How bad can auditing get? Worse, it seems. The Guardian has reported:
Grant Thornton was the worst performer in the Financial Reporting Council's annual review of audits by the UK's big accountants. The FRC said half of the eight Grant Thornton audits it inspected for 2017/18 required significant improvement.
Across the industry, one in four audits failed to reach required standards, a finding that will intensify pressure on the firms, which are all already under scrutiny by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Let's summarise. Audit standards are getting worse. And the alternatives outside the Big 4 are not up to scratch.
This might be best described as systemic failure.
This is why civil society needs to be in this space. And it is why I will be with the Corporate Accountability Network.
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[…] have just noted the problems with auditing that have been reported in the financial press this morning. So has the FT. But as it, rather […]
How quickly have things gone wrong since this, when you were an auditor and held a candle for the profession?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2000/jan/16/workandcareers.madeleinebunting1
[…] have just noted the problems with auditing that have been reported in the financial press this morning. So has the FT. But as it, rather […]
I agree with the thrust of your arguments however I think you are being a bit unfair to BDO with the comment “And the alternatives outside the Big 4 are not up to scratch.”
There is a massive difference in the assessment of BDO compared with GT.
It could, of course, be argued that BDO are just the best out of a bad bunch.
OK……accepted
I venture to suggest that the alternatives INSIDE the big four are also patently not up to scratch. Vide PWC for one.
Time to bring back consequences, as a young auditor I was made fully aware that if we failed in any way in an audit the partner bore the full responsibility including financially for any issues missed. If this was reinstated the shortcuts taken by current day auditing firms would disappear overnight.