§ Ms. MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to bring forward proposals to place a duty on auditors to report fraud, or suspicion of fraud.
§ Mr. RedwoodAs the Government made clear in their response to the report of the Trade and Industry Select Committee on company investigations, we do not believe that a statutory duty should be imposed on auditors to report fraud, or suspicions of fraud, to the authorities. We believe that the action to be taken by auditors in respect of fraud is best left to professional guidance and we welcome the profession's initiative in publishing last year the auditing guideline on the auditor's responsibilities in respect of fraud, other irregularities and errors, which all auditors are expected to follow.