Now this is a surprise, isn't it?
The UK’s accountant-in-chief has issued a stark warning that new rules designed to cut red tape for small businesses could increase the risk of crimes going undetected and reduce public trust in British business. From next year, businesses that turn over less than £10.2m a year will no longer have to get their accounts independently signed off by an auditor, raising the limit from £6.5m. The change – part of Business Secretary Sajid Javid’s push to slash regulation for UK companies of all shapes and sizes – will lift an estimated 11,000 businesses out of audit requirements, and means that 98pc of Britain’s businesses will not have to carry out a full audit.
So, how should we evaluate this?
However, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) last night cautioned that the decision would leave companies vulnerable to fraud, money-laundering and inaccurate tax bills. Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW, said the body, which represents almost 130,000 accountants across the UK, is holding talks with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about its fears.
Hmm.
“We understand their concern is to reduce the regulatory burden on business, and this is an aim we fully support. We just believe the savings would be better made in less potentially damaging areas,” said Mr Izza, who has in the past chaired a number of Treasury working groups. Bodies such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants have said raising the threshold to £10.2m would risk the livelihoods of many small and sole-practitioner auditors.
Well, you are free to think what you wish of course but we would evaluate this in the following manner.
These trade bodies are no more and no less than the trade union for the profession involved. Their point and purpose is to make sure that their members get as much as possible out of the hides of the rest of us. Just because they are professionals rather than horny handed sons of toil does not change this in the slightest whit.
The accountant's body shouting that more accountants must be employed is no more of a surprise than PCS, the taxmens' union, paying people to write reports shouting that more taxmen must be employed, should shock as little as the teachers' unions arguing that teacher pay should be higher, is as much news to society as freelance writers bemoaning their rate of pay is.
They're out for themselves, all of them, and as long as we remember this we can value their contributions to debate properly. That is, we should ignore them. They are arguing that more of your money should be in their pockets. And?