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Public hearing set on MAFR

8 Feb 2017

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has welcomed the public hearing scheduled by the standing committee on finance (SCOF), to be held in Parliament on 15 February, on the regulator's measures to strengthen auditor independence and contribute to the efficiency of capital markets.

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The IRBA decided in August 2016 that the preferred solution to achieve adequate auditor independence and enhance the credibility of financial reporting was mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR).

Its announcement of the proposal and call for input into the transitional arrangements to be considered was met with stiff resistance even ahead of the official public consultation process which kicked off on 25 October 2016 and closed at the end of January 2017.

On November 15, the IRBA was invited to parliament to present its annual report as well as the MAFR proposals to SCOF. At that time, the committee suggested that it would be appropriate to assist the process by hosting a hearing early this year.

Last week the IRBA reported that it had received 65 submissions near the close of the comment period, but this had since risen to 70. The board of the IRBA is considering the submissions which were received from a variety of stakeholders including audit firms, companies, civil society and shareholder groups, individuals, professional bodies and other regulators. The board meets this week to evaluate whether any new information has come to light as a result of the comment process.