Creating more rules and regulations is no way to fix the governance flaws and management failings exposed by the financial crisis, the architect of the European Union’s governance framework has warned. That would only fuel a growing “compliance culture” and make the situation worse. Instead, companies should focus on changing the behavior of individual employees, […]
Global Glimpses
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Brussels Looks to Break Open Audit Market
Brussels officials are looking for ideas to break open the European Union audit market, which the Big 4 accounting firms dominate. The European Commission has been worried for some time about the lack of auditor choice for large companies and says the recent financial turmoil might actually widen the gap between the four biggest firms […]
Posted inEurope
Commission Hammers Ratings Agencies
The European Commission has published its plans to impose tougher regulation on credit rating agencies, including restrictions on the kind of services they can provide. Most rating agencies already followed a voluntary code agreed on in 2004 by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, but this self-regulation had failed, Commission officials say. Legal supervision was […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Mideast Must Improve Its Governance Game
Organizations in the Middle East and North Africa region need to improve their standards of corporate governance to boost the area’s financial stability, according to a declaration from local policymakers, regulators, and business leaders. The Doha Declaration, organized by the corporate governance institute Hawkamah after a conference in the Qatari capital, recommended a raft of […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Auditors Escape Crunch Criticism So Far
The auditing profession has come out of the credit crunch relatively unscathed, with few observers blaming firms for failing to spot the problems that got banks into difficulty, according to Paul Boyle, chief executive of Britain’s Financial Reporting Council. “So far, at least, auditing has had a good crisis,” Boyle said in a speech on […]
Posted inEurope
IASB Chief Nearly Quit on Fair-Value Pressure
Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, considered resigning last month after coming under intense pressure from European Commission officials to retreat on fair-value accounting rules. The Commission wanted IASB to ease its rules relating to the valuation of financial instruments, to help banks weather the financial crisis. The Board did make […]