On average, finance chiefs want the reform to be delayed by two years, and 34% would like a delay of three to four years, shows research by Galvanize, a specialist in SaaS governance, risk, and compliance software.

While more than two thirds (69%) of survey respondents said the proposed audit reform will positively affect the UK’s economic recovery, a concerning 43% said that audit reform would lead to more corporate failures. There was a general consensus that investor confidence in UK-listed companies will increase with tougher audit rules and less opportunity for conflict when the largest audit firms hive off their audit arms.

One of the significant proposals in the government’s reforms is to increase directors’ personal responsibility and liability when audits go wrong. An overwhelming majority (80%) of respondents agreed that directors should be held personally responsible and liable for the accuracy of company financial statements while 75% said the government’s audit reforms proposal was sufficient to hold directors accountable.

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