There are concerns some of Australia's biggest companies have not changed auditors for decades. There is a heightened risk of corporate disasters with this lack of auditor rotation, with one company having had the same auditor for the last 65 years, new reports revealed.
Analysis of Australia's 20 largest operations shows the average auditing tenure is 22.4 years, exceeding the maximum 20 years under European laws. A parliamentary inquiry to begin this month will hold public hearings into accounting firms, looking into conflicts of interest, poor audit quality and the relationship between the government and the big four accounting firms.
The question for many years has been whether: 1. Mandatory firm rotation would work, 2. What the ideal tenure of a firm may be, 3. Boards of directors appointment of the same firm meads to a board question rather than accounting ring firm, 4. Audi partner rotation also a factor.