Mr. Gabriel Makhlouf:

I am hesitating slightly because I want to make sure I answer the Chair's question and not something else. I do not know if Mr. Madouros or Mr. Kincaid want to come in. I will make a general statement about what I have seen, not just in Ireland but elsewhere, regarding the lessons learned from the financial crisis, specifically the experience of the accountancy and auditing profession.

Many lessons were identified. My experience has been that lessons were learned. The fact that some of the rules may not have changed underplays the effort put into the application of the rules themselves and the standards. I cannot speak for Ireland but in a number of jurisdictions, changes were made to the regulatory system around the accountancy, for example, and other professions, to address some of those issues. I think there were specific changes - Mr. Madouros or Mr. Kincaid may know - around the valuation rules of particular assets and how they should be done. I do not know whether these address the article the Chair talked about. I have not seen thePrivate Eyearticle, for example, or the other articles.

As an example beyond the accountancy profession, a very significant change made following the financial crisis was to the rating agencies and the use of ratings in the assessments made by institutions, such as regulators, around the world. That was a very significant change. The rating agencies certainly got it wrong before then. I am potentially straying into territory I am not completely on top of. I do not know if Mr. Madouros or Mr. Kincaid have anything to add to this. If the Chair gives us the Private Eyearticle, we can try to be a little more specific.