Nearly a year since the government set out plans to reform the audit profession, there has been no progress, and little sign that parliamentary time will be found to publish draft rules
The issue was raised in the House of Lords last week, when Baroness Bennett of the Green Party asked when the government planned to publish the Audit Reform Bill.
In response, former business minister Lord Callanan said: ‘The government published its response to the white paper, Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance on 31 May 2022. The response stated that the reforms will be delivered by a variety of mechanisms. This includes changes already made by the regulator and by ministerial direction.’
He did not commit to a specific date for publication of the draft Bill, adding that ‘the government is committed to legislating when parliamentary time allows’.
Lord Callanan was moved to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in last week's reshuffle after three years in post, where he was responsible for audit reform.
