HC Deb 26 October 1990 vol 178 cc327-8W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether he will launch an independent investigation into the influence of major firms on audit policy making;

(2) whether he will investigate the influence of major accountancy firms on the major policy-making committees of the accountancy profession.

Mr. Redwood

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his question on 5 April at column804.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list all statutory provisions relating to the making of audit policy by the Auditing Practices Committee.

Mr. Redwood

The Auditing Practices Committee is established by CCAB Ltd., a company registered under the Companies Act, whose shareholders are the chartered bodies of accountants. The committee's activities are therefore not founded on statutory provisions.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will seek to introduce legislation to require auditors to actively satisfy themselves that a company is a going concern.

Mr. Redwood

I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to his questions on 5 March at column413, 27 March at column 125 and 2 April at column 399.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish a table showing how many of Britain's top 100 companies are audited by firms criticised by his Department's inspectors.

Mr. Redwood

The hon. Member is already aware of the auditing firms criticised in inspectors' reports published since June 1979 (Official Report, 19 December 1989, column 139 and 21 February 1990, column 789). In addition two reports were published on 29 August 1990:

Name of Company Name of Accountants
Minet Holdings pic Black, Geoghegan and Till.
WMD Underwriting Agencies Limited. Josolyne Layton-Bennett and Co.
Arthur Young McClelland Moores and Co.
Alexander Howden Holdings pic. Josolyne Layton-Bennett and Co.
de Paula Turner Lake and Co.
Peat Marwick Mitchell and Co., Bermuda.
Arthur Young McClelland Moores and Co.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she will provide a list showing the number of accountancy firm partners which have been barred from practising as a result of criticisms in the Department of Trade and Industry inspectors' reports.

Mr. Redwood

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his question on 26 March at column 25.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will seek to introduce legislation to enable individual shareholders to sue company auditors for negligence.

Mr. Redwood

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his question on 26 February at column15.