HC Deb 17 July 1995 vol 263 c900W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what proposals he has for legislation under which the auditor duties for reporting material fraud to the regulators applicable in the financial sector will also apply to the corporate sector; [33925]

(2) what proposals he has for legislation under which company auditors will have a statutory duty to detect and report material fraud to the regulators. [33926]

Mr. Oppenheim

The rights and duties of auditors to report to regulators in the financial sector were set out in the auditing practices board's statement of auditing standards No. 620, issued in March 1994. In January 1995, the APB published two statements of auditing standards that clarify the rights and duties of auditors when reporting fraud or any other non-compliance with regulations. These are SAS 110, "Fraud and Error," and SAS 120, "Consideration of Law and Regulations". Copies of these documents are available for inspection in the Library of the House.