Vol. 556 No. 3
86 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when she expects to introduce the promised legislation governing the auditing and accounting profession; if the legislation will deal with the concerns expressed about the role of auditors arising from the Enron affair in the United States; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20359/02]
As the Minister, Deputy Harney, confirmed in her reply to a question in relation to this matter on 18 June, the Companies (Audit and Accountancy) Bill includes provisions to reform the regulation of and rules governing the accounting and auditing profession. A substantial amount of work on the preparation of the Bill was carried out prior to the Enron affair and indeed addressed many of the auditing and accounting related issues which surfaced with that event. The ongoing drafting of the Bill deals with the concerns relating, for example, to auditor independence arising from Enron. Drafting of the Bill, which is highly complex in nature, is at an advanced stage in my Department and I expect that the draft measure will be ready to put before Government in the near future to seek approval for its publication. I intend to proceed with the Bill as soon as possible thereafter.
