The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee’s report on audit reform recognises continued concern with audit quality and independence in light of a series of high-profile corporate failures, concluding with a call for a full structural break-up of the Big Four firms, splitting them into audit and non-audit businesses.

The question is how this would actually improve the quality of audit. The priority for the public and politicians is to improve trust and integrity at top companies, and reduce fraud and business failures across corporate Britain, neither of the latter being part of the current remit of auditors.