Australia: audit quality consultation paper published by FRC

Australia's Financial Reporting Council has published a consultation paper titled Audit Quality in Australia - A Strategic Review: see here (pdf) or here (rtf). The report concludes that the audit framework is robust and stable and that fundamental change is not required. It nevertheless identifies possible areas for reform including, for example, key finding 23:

... having regard to the important role that the audit committee plays in the good governance of a company, Treasury considers that it would be appropriate to examine whether the requirement for a company listed on the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index to establish an audit committee should be included in the Corporations Act rather than the Listing Rules, and whether the existing requirement should be extended to all listed companies.

Another related issue that Treasury considers should be examined is whether the mandatory requirement for the top 300 listed companies to comply with the recommendations of the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations on the composition, operation and responsibility of the audit committee should be applied to all 500 companies listed on the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index. Treasury proposes to explore these issues with relevant stakeholders including ASIC, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the ASX".