Sports Direct has hit out at claims that it is looking to replace its auditor Grant Thornton after delaying the release of its preliminary results, stating that it plans to reappoint the mid-tier firm for another year subject to a vote at this year's AGM

Simon Dingemans has been officially appointed as chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) after an approval hearing in front of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee of MPs, who have urged him to be more challenging

PwC is calling for statutory audits to provide more information about companies’ risks and future prospects following research into audit effectiveness which found that the majority of businesses and investors criticise the current audit process

Sir Jon Thompson is to leave the top post at HMRC after just three years to take on the role of chief executive at the troubled audit regulator, Financial Reporting Council (FRC)

Plans for a radical overhaul of the audit market are progressing as the government launches an eight-week consultation to gauge views on CMA market reforms, including possible introduction of joint audits, operational split at Big Four to hive off audit, and more powers for the new audit  regulator

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to introduce more stringent ethical rules for auditors in response to findings from recent audit enforcement cases and audit inspections

Sports Direct has delayed the publication of its annual results, citing the ‘complexities’ relating to its purchase of House of Fraser last August and a request from auditor Grant Thornton for more time

The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has begun a consultation on an internal audit code of practice in the wake of high-profile corporate failures

The government has launched a wide-ranging review into the quality of local authority audits, examining the effectiveness of financial reporting and whether local councils are spotting warning signs early enough

Simon Dingemans, former chief financial officer at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is set to replace Sir Win Bischoff as chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to lead the audit regulator's overhaul and transition into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA)

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has labelled Grant Thornton’s audit quality as ‘unacceptable’, citing its failure to improve as a ‘deep concern’ after finding a quarter (26%) of all audits assessed over the past five years have required significant improvements, reports Pat Sweet

Deloitte has shown ‘modest’ improvements in audit quality in this year’s audit quality inspection (AQI) reviews, but has performed better than other Big Four firms

EY has demonstrated improvements in audit quality in the latest round of audit quality inspection (AQI) reports and is the Big Four firm which came closest to meeting the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) target of 90% of FTSE 350 audits requiring no more than limited improvements

Revenue recognition and a failure to challenge management assumptions were flagged as ongoing issues with audit at mid-tier firm BDO, found this year’s FRC audit quality inspections (AQI) reviews

KPMG has started to turn around its audit business with an improvement in the quality of audits reviewed in the 2018/19 audit quality inspection (AQI) reports, although inspectors criticised a lack of management challenge and quality control, reports Sara White