Professor Eamonn Walsh:

Again, there is a long history in this regard. Auditor rotation is an issue the EU is addressing at present. There is a notion that it might be unhealthy for a company to have the same auditor for 120 years and that perhaps some rotation might be in order. The more subtle point is whether there is partner rotation. In other words, we are basically down to four audit firms that are capable of conducting an audit of a large bank. I am not really being fair in this regard because there are a number of other mid-sized firms which could assist with or carry out such a process. Ultimately, investors looking at a large bank that is not audited by a big four firm would be concerned about the audit.