Vol. 497 No. 7
17 Mr. Spring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans, if any, she has to implement the recommendations of the recent communication from the EU Commission, Statutory Audit in the European Union - The Way Forward; and if her Department has received a submission from the Federation Des Experts Compatibles Europeens in this regard. [26120/98]
The communication of May 1998 from the EU Commission, entitled the Statutory Audit in the European Union: the Way Forward, draws attention to the different regulatory frameworks underlying the statutory audit at EU level and refers inter alia to the need to review the existing international standards on auditing for possible application in the EU. The Commission has accordingly instituted discussions on these issues through a committee on auditing representative of member states and the auditing profession.
We welcome the Commission's communication and its establishment of the committee on auditing. Ireland is, of course, contributing to the work of the committee. It is unclear at this stage if legislation will be necessary at EU level in due course because this will obviously depend on the nature of the recommendations that emerge from the committee's future work.
I can confirm that we have received the submission from the Federation Des Experts Compatibles Europeens which proposes the adoption of a set of specific principles to safeguard audit independence and objectivity. We are at present examining the submission which is due to be considered by the committee on auditing in mid-1999.
