Contact: Madonna Jarrett
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Director, Global PR & CEO Communications
+1 212 492 3738

Paris, November 8, 2006 —William G. Parrett, CEO Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, who participated in the Global Public Policy Symposium in Paris yesterday, said, "Deloitte proudly contributed to the development of the vision paper as we believe the current financial reporting model needs to evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century investor.

"At a time when technology is as advanced as it is, information is available online and there is a clear demand for customized information, the profession is proposing forward-looking ideas to support this information need."

Mr. Parrett continued, "The current financial reporting system is not broken and there is a place for reporting information such as historical data. The future, however, requires more. One clear question we are trying to address through the paper and subsequent dialogue is what is expected of the auditor and what is their role."

Fraud detection is another issue raised by the paper. In commenting, Mr. Parrett said, "There still remains a difference in the expectations of investors, the business community and other stakeholders about what an audit can and cannot accomplish, including the expectation that auditors should find fraud more immediately.

"As a profession we are trying to identify ways to narrow this gap. There is no doubt that the auditors have a clear role to play in protecting shareholders from fraud, as do company executives, board members, management and the governance structure and internal controls implemented within a company. The paper brings this collective responsibility to the table.

"It is a matter of all stakeholders doing their part to develop an environment that supports fraud detection including corporate culture, setting tone at the top of the organization."

Mr. Parrett concluded, "The paper is the beginning of what we hope will be a robust dialogue about how financial reporting and public company auditing procedures must adapt to better serve capital markets around the word."

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu contributed to the development of the paper and looks forward to leading further discussion on the issues raised. The full report is available in PDF format at the bottom of the page.

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Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, its member firms, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates.  Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is an organization of member firms around the world devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice, focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries. With access to the deep intellectual capital of 135,000 people worldwide, Deloitte delivers services in four professional areas—audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services—and serves more than one-half of the world’s largest companies, as well as large national enterprises, public institutions, locally important clients, and successful, fast-growing global growth companies. 

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