13 Amendments of Sharon BOWLES related to 2011/2037(INI)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the recognition of proportionality in the Green Paper.
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes potential liability that may attach to providing additional information above that required by regulation; nevertheless believes society demands that auditors have both a forward and outward looking responsibility especially with regard to large and systemically relevant corporations; information available to auditors that is in the public interest relating to risk, off balance sheet operations or future potential future exposures should always be disclosed to regulators and in most circumstances made available to the public;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Suggests that auditors should take part in pan industry or sectoral assessments of specific controls and risks, observing that this should be exercised in a proportionate way and not be imposed on small businesses;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to look into how the role of the auditor might be extended to include audits of risk reports provided by the entity being audited, in addition to verification of the information supplied in the main financial statements; recommends that auditors must be made aware of all instances where the risk- committee has been over-ruled.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes the view that auditors should be subject to an obligation to alert supervisors or the relevant authorities when they spot problems that might jeopardise the future of the entity being audited; recommends that bilateral meetings take place between auditors and supervisors of major financial institutions;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Is of the view that over-legalistic presentations and excessive disclaimers by auditors are not in the public interest;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Agrees that steps need to be taken to prevent excessive familiarity, suggests that options other than or additional to a fixed rotation cycle should be considered, for example if joint audits are used the rotation cycle could be double that for when a single auditor is used as the dynamics of ‘three in the room’ is different to that of ‘two in the room’; joint audit rotation could also be staggered;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Takes the view that there should be a ban on services other than auditing being provided to the audited company, as this would pose a risk to the auditor's independence; nevertheless considers that the creation of audit-only firms might reduce expertise and the calibre of staff within such firms; takes the view, furthermore, that under no circumstances should internal and external auditing services be provided simultaneously; points out that this would restrict ‘lowballing’, the practice of offering cut- price auditing with a view to obtaining compensation by charging for additional services; therefore takes the view that the ban must apply to all firms and their clients, particularly where major audit firms are concerned;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Takes the view that the fees an audit firm or a network of audit firms can charge a single client should not exceed a certain percentage of its total income so as to prevent a situation in which the audit firm loses its economic independence; be published when they exceed a threshold and supervisors should be able to intervene with checks, limits or other planning requirements when they exceed a certain percentage of its total income so as to prevent a situation in which the audit firm loses its economic independence; it must be recognised that for smaller firms intervention should not restrict growth and that obtaining large and significant client, which will represent a high percentage of work in early stages, is an essential part of the growth process;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Group auditors should have a clear overview of the group and for financial institutions supervised on a group basis should have dialogue with the group supervisor;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Considers that takeovers by the big four must be considered in the light of impact on growth of other firms or networks;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. States that it is vital to introduce a ban on restrictive clauses in contracts that favour the Big Four firms; calls for mergers between small and medium-sized audit firms to be encouraged; urges the Commission to look into creating a quality certificate and register for audit companies so that small and medium-sized audit firms can show that their work is of a satisfactory standard; demands that public procurement should aim to use firms other than the big four and that public bodies should set a benchmark percentage for use of non big four firms;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Notes that there are many more auditors than credit rating agencies and that direct supervision by a European Agency would be a larger task than that set up for Credit Rating Agencies, however an authorisation process at the European level may be feasible;