With the King’s Speech announcement confirming many of the new ambitious plans from the Labour government, ACCA, the leading global accountancy body, have spoken out on key bills, including audit reform.
ACCA director of policy and insight, Mike Suffield, said: “Audit reform has been severely overdue in the UK, yet repeated delays have sidelined it, despite the importance of it in promoting the UK as a great place to do business. ACCA has long called for this implementation, so to see it included in the King’s Speech as one of the first points of the speech is a huge step forward.
“Legislation will place the planned new regulator, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), on a statutory footing and will set out clear expectations and accountability for Boards, management and auditors.
“The shift of the FRC to ARGA as a clear independent watchdog will strengthen the oversight of audit quality so that audit firms can be held properly to account, introducing changes that have been needed since the collapse of Carillion in 2018.”
ACCA regional lead of policy and insights, Jessica Bingham, added: “The devolution to give more local authorities power away from Westminster is a reflection of recent changes in the UK, such as with increased powers for regional Mayors. It recognises the importance of local people doing local work, putting budgets and resources to use in the places where they are most needed.
“However, ACCA urges caution when devolving budgets to local authorities who are not set up with proper audit and corporate governance processes. It is important to ensure that devolution is an effective handing-over of power, equipping all parties with the skills and resources they need to make it a success.
“A transition to local authority powers will empower regions and has the potential to divert more money and resource to where it’s needed most, but there needs to be a firm hand guiding the tiller of finances and a steady, measured approach to change.”
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