"Work to be done" to restore trust in audit work

News Article - 21 September 2007
Category: Regulatory

More needs to be done to restore faith in the UK's audit profession, according to a nee study.

Research conducted on behalf of BDO Stoy Hayward found that 40 per cent of analysts and investors surveyed said they were concerned about how the Big Four accountancy firms were dominating the market, Accountancy Magazine reports.

Meanwhile, a quarter of respondents said that audit quality could be affected by limited competition within the sector, with 40 per cent of investors claiming they have challenged the quality of information received from audit firms in recent years.

Jeremy Newman, managing partner at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: "This research shows that there is still work to be done to shake off the doubts raised by Enron and fully restore trust in the quality of audit work in the UK from the investment community's perspective."

In related news, the accountancy firm reported last month that the US sub-prime crisis has had a negative impact upon business confidence in the UK.

The firm's Optimism Index, which measures confidence over the next six months, fell from 101.9 to 101.2 in August.

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