Boris Johnson’s government aims to pass audit reform legislation over the next year, ending four years of delays, it said Tuesday in a surprise announcement.
The reform commitments it outlined at the opening of Parliament were brief, however, and watered down from earlier proposals that included suggestions to force the big firms to split their audit and consulting arms.
Some big accounting firms welcomed the announcement, but other industry commentators were critical.
“The mention of audit reform in this Queen’s Speech is doubly disappointing,” Michael Izza, CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said by ...