The wait for the “long-awaited” government bill to reform the audit market is over. It is not because ministers have decided it’s embarrassing that eight years have passed since the collapse of Carillion, the massive corporate failure that reminded everybody that auditing is boring until it matters greatly that outsiders can trust the published numbers. Rather, it is because the government has given up on a reform bill. It would rather give another airing of its “pro-growth” refrain.
“While the planned reforms would be beneficial, some would increase costs on business, and it would not be right to prioritise these over more deregulatory measures,” the minister for small business, Blair McDougall, formally told the business select committee. He had other explanations – not enough parliamentary time and “the need for major reform is less pressing than it was” – but all can be regarded as a case of short memory syndrome.
