The audit profession adds real value to society and needs to be a career that attracts the brightest and best, explained Sir Donald Brydon in his first public meeting since starting his review of the audit profession.
He told a recent conference hosted by the ICAEW: “The whole trust in our corporate sector depends on people believing the information they are given and you [auditors] have a unique position to call out when that information is not in accordance with reality. What could be a higher purpose than the purpose that audit serves?”
Sir Donald said he was worried that too much blame was being pinned on auditors for the recent high-profile corporate failures. He was troubled that in the current mood there is a “shotgun aimed at auditors every time there’s a corporate problem”.
Sir Donald felt it is not auditors that cause companies to fail – it is the result of the actions of directors!
