英国商务大臣：审计改革是当务之急 发布时间：2019-11-18 18:30 英国商务大臣安德里亚·利德索姆女士发表了一份部长声明，并在ICAEW官方杂志Economia上发布了一篇文章阐述她的观点，承诺将根据实际情况尽快采取立法行动，实施审计改革。 但她认为，在此之前需要仔细考虑各项问题，否则不应冒然推进立法。 在向议会提交的部长声明和她的社论中，她指出改革将是全面的。改革内容不仅包括监管职能，还包含审计本身的目的和职能; 同时也会考虑审议审计委员会的职能和监督责任以及新的内部控制安排; 改革还包括对于董事会和董事履行的职责提出建议，以及建议投资者和监管机构应该如何更好地让企业及其审计师承担责任。 她表示:“所有这些因素都必须得到评估和权衡，这样整个方案才会连贯、有效。” 所有与我讨论过这个问题的人都认为审计改革不可能轻而易举，并且不应该过于仓促地实施; 或者单独推进某些重要部分。很显然，我们需要一个连贯的改革方案— 提高质量、弹性和选择。 有人批评说，尽管高质量的审计对资本市场很重要，但审计改革在女王的演讲中没有提及，利德索姆对此做出了部分回应。英国商业、能源和产业战略委员会(BEIS)尤其严厉批评了政府拖延改革的问题。 BEIS委员会主席雷切尔•里夫斯(Rachel Reeves)表示:“从英国托马斯•库克集团(Thomas Cook)的破产事件中可以看到，就在该公司宣布破产已近在眼前之际，商务部和商务大臣却表现得极为冷漠，完全袖手旁观。事实上，许多有关审计、高管薪酬和公司治理的必要措施已经在政府的文件栏里放置了好几个月了。” 在对审计行业、审计监管机构和审计产品的评估过程中，一些关键参与者也对没有得到配合支持而感到意外。 英国女王发表演讲后不久，约翰•金曼爵士(Sir John Kingman)在致BEIS委员会主席的一封信中表达了他的担忧。金曼爵士之前对于财务报告委员会(Financial Reporting Council)的独立评估报告已引发了重大改革，尤其是用更强大、更有力的监管机构——审计、报告和治理机构(ARGA)取代了财务报告委员会(Financial Reporting Council)。 他对ARGA的成立表示支持，其中包括任命GSK前首席财务官西蒙•丁格曼斯(Simon Dingemans)为机构主席，任命前英国税务海关总署(HMRC)前主管约翰•汤普森爵士(Sir John Thompson)为首席执行官，负责领导过渡工作。 然而，改革拼图的最后一块，也是最关键的一块是立法，将新监管机构置于一个适当的法定基础之上，并赋予它履行职责所需的权力。令人失望的是，这项立法并没有在女王的演讲中提及。 我清楚地知道，政府有许多其他的优先事务要处理。但鉴于我们对改革必要性达成了明确共识，我担心让FRC继续不彻底、缺乏立法基础的改革将带来诸多风险。 利德索姆明确表示，她希望英国成为世界上最适宜工作和发展商业的地方，这就涉及到“改革审计、审计监管机构和审计市场”。 “我已在议会清楚地指出，我致力于推进改革; 并且我坚信，需要进行真正持久和有效的变革。” 不过，在收到唐纳德·布莱顿爵士的反馈之前她不会开始任何立法改革。布莱顿爵士目前正在对审计产品的有效性和质量进行评估。 他原定在圣诞节前提交报告，但在11月初，他在推特上表示，他将在1月13日那周发布他的报告。他对于推迟报告给予了这些理由：“有趣的是到目前为止，我已经收到了超过2500页的意见，召开了超过100次会议。” Leadsom says audit reform is a top priority In one of her last acts before parliament was dissolved last night, business secretary Andrea Leadsom issued a ministerial statement and wrote to economia committing to legislative action – as soon as practically possible – to implement audit reform. But she insists that she will not be pushed into legislation without careful consideration of the issues. In a ministerial statement to parliament and in her editorial piece, she says that reform will be wide-sweeping. It will embrace not just the regulatory functions, but the purpose and function of the audit itself; it will consider the function and oversight of audit committees and new internal control arrangements; and it will also include proposals on the responsibilities of boards and directors and how both investors and regulators can better hold companies and their auditors to account. “All of those factors must be assessed and weighed together, so that the whole package is coherent and effective,” she says. “No one I have spoken to has argued that audit reform is simple; that it should be done in haste; or that significant elements should be taken forward in isolation. But it is clear that a coherent programme of change is needed – driving up quality, resilience and choice.” Leadsom was responding in part to criticism that, despite the importance of high quality audits to the capital markets, audit reform did not merit a mention in the Queen’s Speech. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, in particular, was scathing about what it perceived as the government dragging its feet. “The failure at Thomas Cook has been also been notable for the extraordinary lack of interest shown by the Business Department and its secretary of state in the days and weeks leading up to the collapse,” said BEIS Committee chair Rachel Reeves. “It is also a matter of fact that many of the necessary measures on audit, on executive pay, and on corporate governance have been sitting in the government’s in-tray for months.” Some of the key players in the review of the audit profession, its regulator and its product, were also surprised at the apparent lack of support. Sir John Kingman, whose independent review resulted in major reforms, not least the replacement of the Financial Reporting Council with a stronger and more powerful regulator, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), expressed his concern in a letter to Reeves shortly after the Queen’s Speech. After applauding the moves to establish ARGA, including appointing former GSK CFO Simon Dingemans as chair and former HMRC head Sir John Thompson as chief executive to oversee the transition, he expressed his concern about the pace of progress. “The final, crucial piece of the jigsaw, however, is legislation to put the new regulator on to a proper statutory base – and to give it the powers it needs to do its job. It is therefore disappointing that this legislation was not included in this Monday’s Queen’s Speech. “I clearly recognise that the government has many competing priorities. But given the unequivocal consensus around the need for change, I am concerned about the risks of letting the FRC drift on, half-reformed and lacking the teeth that only legislation can give it.” Leadsom makes it clear that she wants the UK to be the best place in the world to work and to grow a business, which includes “reforming audit, the audit regulator, and the audit market”. “I have made clear in parliament my commitment to taking forward reform; and I have no doubt there is a need for truly long-lasting, and effective change.” However, she will not go ahead with any legislative reforms before hearing back from Sir Donald Brydon who is currently carrying out a review of the effectiveness and quality of the audit product. He was due to report before Christmas but at the beginning of November he tweeted that he would be publishing his report in the week of 13th January. “I have received over 2,500 pages of views and held well over 100 meetings to date,” was his excuse for the delay. “Lots of interest.”