§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he proposes to introduce legislation requiring auditors to report cases of fraud.
§ Mr. HowardIn the context of financial services this is one of the questions discussed in a consultative document that my Department will be issuing shortly on the role of auditors in that sector. I shall obviously want to consider the responses, but my current view is that much could be done if auditors took a more positive view of their role in relation to the reporting of suspected fraud. I welcome the recent initiatives which the accountancy profession has taken in that direction.