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Following the publication of the BEIS Committee’s report on the future of audit, Maggie McGhee, executive director – governance, said:
‘During our evidence session with the BEIS Committee, we reiterated our long-held belief that there should be a cooling off period, during which non-audit services could not be sold after an audit engagement has ended.
‘ACCA welcomes the recommendation of a three year period proposed by BEIS. We also welcome the committee’s recommendation of fixed-term, audit contracts, which we suggested in our response to the CMA, as these allowing auditors to complete their term and maintain independence.
‘ACCA also supports the piloting of joint audits, as this will provide the opportunity to collect evidence on the impact that joint audit has on audit quality.
‘However, ACCA does not support the introduction of a market share cap, which we view as arbitrarily reducing choice and restricting audit committees’ ability to select an auditor based on quality.’