Seanad debates
Wednesday, 28 May 2003
Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage.
A famous or infamous case, depending on one's point of view, is currently being investigated by one of the accountancy bodies. It is an investigation into the practices of one of its own members. I refer to the Blaney case, which has being going on for a number of years. It has already cost something in the order of €2 million. The legislation is designed to avoid a situation where the IASA itself could not undertake an investigation if it needed to. If the structures work properly, it should never have to undertake an investigation itself. It was a combination of that issue and other unanticipated issues that gave rise to this area of the legislation. There is also the question of potential court challenges to the authority itself, and the need for the authority to be able to defend itself in such situations.
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