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Mazars, the leading auditor of global companies in Europe outside the big four, is calling for substantial reforms in its formal response to the interim report of the Financial Reporting Council’s Market Participants Group ‘Choice in the UK audit market’.

Whilst welcoming the MPG’s interim report, Mazars says that if its goal is to be achieved it will need to develop its proposals in more detail, focus on those that will have most impact and ensure they are vigorously implemented.  The firm also believes that regulatory intervention may become necessary if the MPG’s market based initiative does not achieve results in a reasonable timeframe.

The main ‘high impact’ reforms supported by Mazars are:

• more frequent audit tendering, with disclosure of when the incumbent auditor was appointed and when the last formal audit tender was held
• a broader, more open selection process with all firms being given the chance to submit outline proposals
• improved disclosures in the audit committees’ report
• an independent study, under the FRC’s auspices, on the benefits of joint audits

David Herbinet, a member of the FRC’s Market Participant Group and head of public interest markets at Mazars said: “We must not shy away from the word 'competition': the bulk of available evidence points to a clear lack of it. It’s critical that we increase choice through competition if we are to create a more dynamic, innovative market focused on quality.”

He continued “When FTSE 100 auditors can expect to remain in place for 48 years and 70% of those audits are not put out to tender in at least a fifteen year period, this does not suggest a healthily competitive market able to offer real choice to end-users.”

As part of its formal response, Mazars has produced a publication ‘Seizing the chance to change’, which it is distributing to key stakeholders, including FTSE 350 Chairmen and Finance directors, and leading institutional investors.

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