Ms Helen Hall:

By its nature, our job is negative, but it is important to put things in context and not to blacken the entire population of auditors and accountants. There are almost 31,000 accountants and auditors in Ireland who are members of the prescribed bodies that we supervise. We received 22 complaints during the year which amounts to 0.8% of that population. We considered all nine professional bodies and during the year they received 320 complaints. That is a high number and action is required, but it is a little over 1% of the population.

There will be a requirement for hand-over rotation in the audit reform packages and the ESMA will set the standards for what must be put in, which will give us some comfort. There will be a steep learning curve for any new auditor, but at least the law will state what must be handed over. Whether eight years is too long is a very contentious issue and there are pluses and minuses. The current proposal suggests a period six years but another before the legal affairs committee in the parliament is for 25 years. There will be a great deal of discussion at European level on this issue which seem to be firmly on the table at the parliament.