Competition Commission inquiry into the statutory audit services market in the UK
On 21 October 2011, the Office of Fair Trading announced its referral of the statutory audit market for large UK companies to the Competition Commission (CC). The inquiry could take up to two years to complete, and Deloitte is taking this very seriously and cooperating extensively with the CC. We have submitted a number of documents during the inquiry to date (in some instances, confidential information has been removed). In addition, we have also had a number of meetings with the CC and responded to questionnaires and data requests.
In February 2013, the CC published its provisional findings, a summary thereof, and a notice of possible remedies. Deloitte’s press release from 22nd February 2013 sets out our initial view of the provisional findings. Our subsequent responses to the provisional findings and the possible remedies can be found here.
We will continue to work with the CC in its consideration of remedies. We are committed to increasing and maintaining the public’s trust in the capital markets and role of the auditor - and this will be central in our continued contributions.
Upcoming milestones
July 2013: Provisional decision on remedies expected
September 2013: Final report expected
20 October 2013: Statutory deadline for the inquiry
The full administrative timetable for this inquiry is available on the CC’s website.
Highlights
- Deloitte’s initial submission to the Competition Commission
- Deloitte’s response to the issues statement
- Summary of Deloitte’s response to the Competition Commission questionnaire
- Deloitte’s audit pricing analysis for the Competition Commission
- Deloitte’s comments on the first working paper
- Initial review of relevant academic literature
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