With auditors under heavy scrutiny and a litany of audit failures at listed companies, Sarah Perrin ACA asks whether the fundamentals of audit are actually working and how technology could improve the quality of audit

The heads of the Big Four audit firms and their mid-tier challengers are to face questions from MPs on Wednesday, 30 January, when the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee holds the second evidence session for its inquiry into the future of audit

EY US has set up an independent audit quality committee (IAQC), comprised of senior external leaders and a former member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which will advise the US firm’s senior leadership on issues that affect audit quality

The Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) investigation into Carillion is set to continue for much of this year but will be completed ‘promptly and thoroughly’, the regulator has said in an update on its examination of KPMG’s auditing and the conduct of two former finance directors of the failed outsourcer

The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendation of joint audits for FTSE 350 companies will force mid-tier firms to invest in resources and skills to be able to contend with the Big Four. Matthew Stallabrass, partner, corporate audit at Crowe, considers the implications of the Kingman and CMA audit reviews

Today marks the final deadline for responses to the consultation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on changes to legislation to improve the audit sector, which include separating audit from consulting services; greater accountability for audit committee chairs and introducing a ‘joint audit’ regime

KPMG has suspended Peter Meehan, the audit partner for failed outsourcing company Carillion, and three other members of staff after discovering issues with documentation provided to the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC’s) audit quality review (AQR) of the company in 2017

Both academics and business experts raised concerns of ‘unintended consequences’ of audit reforms to the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee, with broad disagreement over whether the changes should be led by government or business, reports James Bunney

The government needs to improve its oversight of the governance system to help local authorities cope with increasing financial and demand pressures, with a quarter of chief finance officers (CFO) from councils calling for external auditors to focus on value for money, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO)

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) wants EU legislators to intervene and ensure the European Central Bank (ECB) allows full access to documents for audits related to banking supervision, arguing that the current position prevents them from carrying out their work properly

The failure of its first audit has led the US Department of Defense (DOD) to begin the development of a central database that will record all financial transactions across its operations and aid it in managing a $692bn (£541bn) budget

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

The number of NHS and local government bodies with significant weaknesses in their arrangements for delivering value for money is ‘unacceptably’ high, but bodies are failing to take action on auditors’ warnings, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO)

FTSE 100 energy provider SSE has appointed EY as its external auditor, subject to approval by shareholders, ending a 20-year relationship with KPMG