The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a four-week consultation on the fee structure for third country auditors (TCA) in the event of a no-deal Brexit, although it has indicated that the current fee structure is unlikely to change

In this month’s round-up of audit news, the Competition and Markets Authority releases its initial findings into the lack of competition in the listed audit market with the Big Four under fire, while the Kingman review questions to competency of the audit regulator, while Patisserie Valerie drops Grant Thornton in auditor switch to RSM

A five-week consultation has been launched on the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) proposals to address the lack of competition in the audit market with reforms including the introduction of joint audits for listed companies, with at least one firm being non-Big Four, and closer scrutiny of auditor appointments, reports Amy Austin

In a scathing review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Sir John Kingman has called for the standard setter and audit regulator to be closed in its present form with immediate replacement by a new oversight authority with regulatory powers set in statute

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a consultation to assess the effectiveness of the client asset audit (CASS) standard, which was introduced in 2015 to provide a principles-based framework to strengthen audit quality in response to some high profile failures

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

In its response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review, Grant Thornton has called for a ban on firms receiving non-audit fees from Public Interest Entity (PIE) clients however does not believe that splitting Big Four audit and non-audit practices will be an effective remedy

In Mazars' response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) statutory audit market study, it says that it is ‘fully supportive of changes which propose to create a genuinely competitive audit market that addresses stakeholders’ needs’ and pushes for joint audits

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has begun a major project which aims to challenge existing thinking about corporate reporting and consider how companies should better meet the information needs of shareholders and other stakeholders, as well as alternative ways of delivering that information

With the Big Four audit market facing a competition review by the Competition and Markets Authority, Jon Roberts, partner and head of assurance at mid-tier firm Grant Thornton UK, asks how to rebuild trust and integrity for the longer term in the audit profession

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced the launch of its anticipated study of the audit sector, designed to examine concerns that it is not working well for the economy or investors because of the dominance of the Big Four and a lack of competition

The government is considering whether to reinforce the rules on dividend payouts and distributions to give stronger reassurances to shareholders and prevent dividends from undermining the viability of a company, reports James Bunney

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a consultation on corporate governance principles for large private companies, on behalf of James Wates who has been chairing a coalition group considering the need for improved transparency and accountability in this area

The Monitoring Group is to push ahead with proposals for reform of the way in which audit standards are set globally, including steps to make the process independent of the audit profession, saying feedback to its consultation has revealed widespread support for some, but not all, of its proposals

Sir John Kingman has launched a two-month long call for evidence as part of his independent review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which will examine the regulator’s role, impact and effectiveness, powers, governance and leadership