Most audit committee chairs of large UK companies would prefer their lead audit partners to stay on for seven years, or be given the flexibility to extend the rotation period if needed. A survey of 121 FTSE 350 audit committee chairs by the ICAEW has revealed that 78.5% of respondents are in agreement on the issue. Just over half would like to see a seven-year rotation period; 24% would like to keep the current five-year period but have the flexibility of seven if required, and 21.5% want to maintain the five-year rotation period. The mandatory rotation period was established following the Enron scandal, in line with Sarbanes-Oxley in the US. It was thought at the time that a long and established relationship between audit partners and their clients might lead to the partner not being able to see when their client's accounting was taking a turn for the worst. But the survey reveals that audit committee chairs who favoured a seven-year rotation period thought five years was not long enough given the time it took for engagement partners to understand their business and the issues involved. They said that audit quality is enhanced by this understanding. The survey is a result of the ICAEW assisting the Auditing Practices Board with its assessment of audit rotation. Robert Hodgkinson, executive director at the ICAEW, said that now that the current period has been in place for a number of years, it is 'right' for the APB to 'review how it's working and see if changes need to be made'.