Anxious auditors - keen to discover whether an investigation has unearthed evidence of unfair competition in the large company audit market - will now have to wait even longer to discover their fate.That's because the Competition Commission (CC) has again delayed releasing its findings until mid-February.

Previously, the CC had said it would publish its preliminary findings in November last year alongside possible remedies, but the timetable has now slipped once again. It will now be mid-February before investors, the Big Four and mid-tier firms get to see the findings, instead of January.

All of the Big Four and a number of mid-tier firms have long ago made their final presentations to the probe.

The news emerged just days after auditors discovered that they will have to wait until at least June before learning whether Europe will give the green light on radical proposals to shake up the profession.

As members of the European parliament's legal affairs committee (JURI) continued to argue over measures such as compulsory auditor rotation and joint audits, the full European parliament is now not expected to vote on the matter until 10 June, it has emerged.

The European parliament was originally expected to vote on the proposals in February. JURI had been due to vote on amendments to the proposals on 22 January but this has also been postponed.

The UK's Competition Commission investigation began after a referral from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in October 2011 and the Commission has until October this year to produce final recommendations.

Auditors expect the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to closely watch events in Europe before making any changes.

The CC has until 20 October 2013 to meet its statutory deadline.