Europe: FT reports on draft of audit policy regulation

The lead article on the front page of today's Financial Times newspaper reads "Big audit firms face Brussels onslaught": see here. The authors of the article refer to a draft European Regulation which they have seen which would require large companies to have two auditors, one of which must be from outside the Big Four. Mandatory rotation is also proposed, with a time limit of nine years set. The authors state that the proposals have the strong support of the Internal Market Commissioner, Michel Barnier, but rightly note the likely opposition of some Member States.