PwC has announced a programme of actions designed to encourage wider discussion on how auditing needs to evolve for the future, which includes a series of roundtable sessions around the country, culminating in a London event early next year

A failure to reform the audit market means that the government is likely to take a hard line with audit firms and revive the principles of 'true and fair', warns Emile Woolf FCA

The Big Four are risking conflicts of interest by maintaining and actively promoting specialist divisions to run software audits on behalf of software vendors, which can result in substantial claims against companies who are also their audit clients, a new study claims

Deloitte has been named as the new external auditor for Lloyds Banking Group, replacing PwC which has held the role since 1995, having previously been auditor to certain of its constituent companies stretching back to 1865, making it the longest-running banking audit relationship

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to hear a formal complaint against KPMG and partner David Costley-Wood over allegations of misconduct related to work in 2011 with the UK’s largest bed and mattress manufacturer, Silentnight

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to investigate Grant Thornton’s auditing of Patisserie Holdings, the parent company of upmarket high street cake chain Patisserie Valerie, and will also examine the information provided by ICAEW member Christopher Marsh, its former chief financial officer

Considering whether an entity can qualify for an audit exemption can be complex. As the audit busy season approaches, Anne Cowley ACA cuts to the key requirements

Both ICAEW and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) have highlighted concerns that the significant increases in the sanctions available to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for lapses in auditing risk reducing competition in the market

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a consultation to find out how effective the 2016 changes to ethical and auditing standards have been and whether further steps are now needed to improve the quality of auditing in the UK

Investors want to see improvements in audit quality and are concerned about the current dominance of the Big Four, but are holding back from calling for a break up of the largest firms or a ban on the supply of non-audit services, according to the responses made to the first stage of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review of the sector

Half of the UK public (48%) believe it is auditors who are responsible for avoiding company failures, but only a quarter can accurately identify what an auditor does, according to a survey by ACCA which says there is an urgent need for a wider debate about the role of accountants

An invitation to comment on a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) audit market study has resulted in the Big Four unanimously rejecting the possibility of being broken up and expressing a range of opinions on market share caps and non-audit service restrictions