Recent media reports suggest the government is leaning towards shared audits as part of long-awaited market reforms—despite warnings against the move.

The Competition and Markets Authority says regulators should punish audit committees, impose joint audits and force an “operational separation” of auditors from other parts of their firms
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This past year has been packed with governance events from the launch of new codes, executive pay debates, and leadership behaviour debacles to climate change, cybersecurity scandals and the Khashoggi murder.

The Competition and Markets Authority has made its recommendations for changing the audit market. The proposals will also make audit committees answer to regulators.

Concerns about audit have triggered various investigations into the market’s workings, yet attempts to ‘improve’ audit quality—seem to be failing. So where now for audit reform?

Questions about the ethics of data use have provoked intense debate. Can artificial intelligence be governed to avoid exploiting the vulnerable?

Reports suggest that the Competition and Markets Authority has already met with Big Four leaders to discuss audit market change.

KPMG has been fined more than £3m and reprimanded for its audit work at insurance outsourcer Quindell.

The chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council has begun meetings with the competition regulator to discuss a new investigation of the market for big audit contracts.

Possession of and access to data has become central to modern business. Nigel Parr of law firm Ashurst says it has become so important that it is now a key issue for competition watchdogs.