Changes proposed to auditing authority

The number of accountants on the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) has been increased to five, the Dáil was told yesterday.

The Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2002, which is on its way through the Oireachtas and will establish the IAASA, originally limited the number of accountants allowed on the authority to two.

The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Michael Ahern, yesterday outlined a number of areas where the Government intends introducing amendments. He did not disclose what those amendments would be.

On the issue of the legal protection of the term "accountant", Mr Ahern said he would be requesting the IAASA, when statutorily established, to consider the matter and report back to him.

In relation to one of the more controversial elements of the Bill, whereby directors are obliged to sign compliance statements, Mr Ahern said the intended requirements were "entirely reasonable".

"It is neither the intention nor, in my view, the effect of these provisions to impose draconian requirements on company directors, as some would seek to suggest. Notwithstanding this, I have re-examined the section and the proposed scope of its application, and I expect to bring forward some amendments at committee stage."

The comment was interpreted by the chief executive of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Mr Eamonn Siggins, as meaning that smaller companies could be exempted from the requirement.

Mr Ahern also said that the Government would be proposing amendments at committee stage in relation to the provision requiring certain companies to establish an audit committee. He said amendments would also be proposed for the provision that gives statutory backing to the disciplinary procedures of prescribed accountancy bodies.

The committee stage of the Bill is likely to occur in three to four weeks.