All of the UKs top auditors have failed to hit quality targets for checking companies books, a damning report has revealed. None of the so-called Big Four EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC managed to surpass the 90 percent target of its audits being assessed as good quality, the accountancy watchdog said. The results come after a string of high-profile cases in which auditors missed potential financial problems or fraud including signs of trouble at Carillion, BHS and Patisserie Valerie. The pastry chain went into administration in January after a 40m hole was found in its accounts. Just half of a sample of audits carried out by Patisserie Valeries auditor Grant Thornton in 2017 was assessed as good by the Financial Reporting Council, the latest figures show. The UKs fifth-largest accountancy firm is already under the microscope for its role in the chains collapse. David Dunckley, chief executive of Grant Thornton, told MPs in January that it was not his firms job to uncover fraud. Were not looking for fraud, were not looking at the future, were not giving a statement that the accounts are correct, Mr Dunckley said at the time. More than one in four of Grant Thorntons audits reviewed in the past five years required significant improvement. Results at Carillions former auditor KPMG improved but the firm remains subject to additional regulatory scrutiny after previous failings, the FRC says. Overall, only 75 per cent of the sample of audits from among Britains 350 largest-listed companies for the year ending December 2017 met quality standards. Outside the Big Four, mid-sized auditors Mazars, Grant Thornton and BDO also failed to hit the target. BDO scored the best quality score with 87.5 per cent of its work assessed as good. The FRC says it found cases in all seven firms where auditors failed to challenge management sufficiently. At a time when the future of the audit sector is under the microscope, the latest audit quality results are not acceptable, says Stephen Haddrill, the FRCs chief executive. Audit firms must identify the causes of their audit shortcomings and take rapid and appropriate action to improve quality. Our latest results suggest that they have failed to achieve this in recent years. The results will add weight to MPs calls for radical change to the way the accounts of large companies are signed off. In April the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee said the audit and consultancy arms of Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC should be divided to improve quality and competition. The competition watchdog issued a separate assessment in which it stopped short of calling for a forced break-up of the Big Four, instead recommending for mandatory joint audits where two firms split the work on checking one companys books. The CMA also said that audit should be partially separated from other business by having separate management, accounts, chief executive, board and financial statements. Announcing the reports findings, Competition and Markets Authority chairman Andrew Tyrie said, Peoples livelihoods, savings and pensions all depend on the auditors job being done to a high standard. But too many fall short more than a quarter of big company audits are considered sub-standard by the regulator. This cannot be allowed to continue.

QUESTION 1 (20 Marks) SECTION B [60 Marks] Answer ANY THREE (3) questions in this section. The case study argues that the world's best auditing firms are not performing at the required level. Therefore, this leaves much thought of how the Auditing profession has performed and will perform going forward. Propose how the big four can improve on their performance?