Audit Tendering in the UK: A Review of Stakeholders' Views

This study reports the results of a content analysis of the comment letters sent to the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC), in response to its consultation document on the 2012 revisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code, concerning the proposal for mandatory audit tendering. The results indicate a general support for the FRC’s proposals with a number of key concerns related to audit quality, auditor independence and audit cost. There is also clear conflict of interests among some stakeholder groups such as audit firms and companies on one side and institutional investors on the other side. There is evidence of conflict of interest between Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms. Implications for future consultations and legislations are also discussed.

本研究报告了对发送给英国财务报告委员会（FRC）的意见函进行内容分析的结果，这些意见函是针对其关于2012年英国公司治理准则修订的咨询文件作出的回应，涉及强制审计招标的提议。结果表明，人们普遍支持FRC的提议，但也存在一些与审计质量、审计师独立性和审计成本相关的关键问题。一些利益相关者群体之间也存在明显的利益冲突，例如一方面是审计公司和企业，另一方面是机构投资者。有证据表明四大审计公司和非四大审计公司之间存在利益冲突。还讨论了对未来咨询和立法的影响。