Australia

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A government agency allegedly censored a major study that was critical of the big four consultancy firms because their partners sat on its board, according to the academic who wrote the report.

The allegation, made during a parliamentary inquiry into the ethics and professional standards of the consulting industry, has led to questions about potential “regulatory capture” and possible undue influence.

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), which provides oversight of how companies are audited, commissioned Peter Carey and George Tanewski from Deakin University to study the quality of financial reports.

After more than a decade of research, Carey and Tanewski told the inquiry they believed some of the audits performed by the so-called big four – KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC – “did not uphold quality”.

Despite agreeing with O’Neill’s characterisation of “regulatory capture”, Carey praised the AASB for taking the issue of auditing standards seriously and said “they were so worried about the quality they wanted to make it public”.

“Businesses, investors and stakeholders will benefit from engaging with a single entity responsible for corporate reporting … that will deliver collaborative and effective standards and avoid unnecessary costs,” he said.

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