Role of External Auditor in Regulation (UK, Germany, Italy & the Us)

Up until 1989, there existed "the Big Eight" accountancy firms namely the eight major international accountancy firms, Arthur Young (AY), Ernst & Whinney (EW), Deloitte Haskins & Sells (DHS) ,Touche Ross (TR), Price Waterhouse, Coopers and Lybrand, Arthur Andersen and KPMG. At present, there remain only four; these four comprise of Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Touche, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and KPMG. Whilst the collapse of Enron resulted in the demise of Arthur Andersen, the earlier collapses of BCCI, followed by Barings Bank Plc as discussed in the first part of this section, also involved the present "Big Four" accountancy firms. These collapses also produced devastating effects and one can only arrive at the conclusion that whilst Arthur Andersen paid the price for failing to live up to its role, the other "Big Four" accountancy firms escaped such draconian punishment as a result of the consequences of having two or more of such accountancy firms being made defunct, among which include concentration in the audit market. This thesis considers through a comparative analysis of selected jurisdictions, how the external auditor can assist the regulator in carrying out its functions.