ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Professional development
    6. CA Wellbeing
    7. Mentoring
    8. Member rewards
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. Proud to be a CA
    15. ICAS podcast
    16. Newly admitted members 2022
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight series 2022
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Charities
    5. Coronavirus
    6. Corporate and financial reporting
    7. Business and governance
    8. Ethics
    9. Insolvency
    10. ICAS Research
    11. Pensions
    12. Practice
    13. Public sector
    14. Sustainability
    15. Tax
  11. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  12. CA jobs
    1. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    2. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    3. Resources for your job search
    4. Advertise with CA jobs
    5. Director of Finance and Company Secretary | Glasgow
    6. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
  13. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  14. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

James Barbour CA on the seven essential elements for corporate reform

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By James Barbour CA, Director of Policy Leadership

25 August 2021

From the outset of the calls for audit reform, ICAS has advocated a holistic review of corporate governance, reporting and audit (“the corporate ecosystem”).

Read September's CA magazine now

We therefore see the recent consultation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”, as a step in the right direction. We have, though, made clear that when all consultations are fully complete, the final changes must recognise the need for holistic reform, and should be delivered in a coordinated manner within a reasonable timeframe. As part of our response, we set out seven key priorities for the government to consider.

1. The establishment of Arga

The Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (Arga) has the ability to recalibrate the corporate ecosystem and rebuild public trust by encouraging higher standards of corporate governance, reporting and audit. It can address both the audit expectation gap and that for directors too, improving public understanding of where directors’ responsibilities lie, and where they should be held accountable. As proposed in the BEIS consultation paper, this would require a substantial change of emphasis for Arga’s work programme and resources, compared with its predecessor, the Financial Reporting Council.

If audit quality is still not meeting the regulator’s expectations, yet no major audit opinions have had to be restated, then Arga needs to outline what it requires more clearly. An improved regulator should be able to articulate the standard expected. This will be essential if the regulatory environment is to support increasing choice in the FTSE 350 and wider public interest entity (PIE) audit market.

2. Enhanced director accountability

The roles and responsibilities of directors should be better understood, with directors being more accountable. We welcome the proposal to strengthen requirements of internal controls over financial reporting, a move towards the US system of greater director accountability.

3. PIE definition

To ensure a more level playing field between listed entities and private companies, we support the proposed widening of the definition of a PIE to cover certain large private companies.

4. Enhanced transparency – corporate resilience

A resilience statement, incorporating and building on the going concern and viability statements, will greatly improve transparency and mitigate the risk of surprise failures. But we must recognise there is a wide spectrum of companies which would need to prepare resilience statements. They need the new system to be flexible and allow corporates to determine the key matters to be addressed, the most appropriate place in the statement to reflect them, and the timeframe.

5. Enhanced transparency – audit and assurance policy

The introduction of an audit and assurance policy will help to improve transparency about where the board obtains the necessary assurance on key areas of the business and its reporting.

6. Corporate auditor

We believe the standing and attractiveness of the audit profession should be promoted. ICAS notes the government consultation proposes to take forward Sir Donald Brydon’s recommendation to establish a new corporate auditing profession. Our paper, “A roadmap to the corporate auditor profession”, published in April, set out our vision as to how this could best be achieved. The sequencing we envisage differs in some respects from the government’s proposals, but the end result would be the same: there would be a corporate auditing profession that produces high-quality audit and assurance of both financial and non-financial information.

7. Auditor liability reform

We believe the government should commission a review of the auditor liability regime to consider whether it remains fit for purpose.

The proposed changes will require considerable additional resources across all aspects of the corporate ecosystem – including Arga. Focusing on the key priority areas will deliver much-needed change in a proportionate and timely manner. A well-focused package of reform at the outset will also increase the likelihood of success, and could help to reduce its associated costs and mitigate any disruption.

Read September's CA magazine now

CA magazine: September 2021

By Sarah Speirs, ICAS Executive Director of Member Engagement and Communica

25 August 2021

2022 06 aon 2022 06 aon
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: