London Stock Exchange chairman to lead government probe into audit market

Outgoing LSE chairman will lead further investigation into battered audit system

Outgoing London Stock Exchange Group chairman Donald Brydon is to head a new government-commissioned probe into the battered audit market.

This new Brydon review – codenamed “Project Flora” – will question how auditors verify information, identify public expectations and the gap between what audits can and should deliver.

Business Secretary Greg Clark announced the independent review, which will be separate to the two reviews led by the Competition and Markets Authority and Sir John Kingman, chairman of Legal & General, which have recommended opening up the Big Four audit market to other accounting firms and scrapping the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), among other recommendations.

According to Sky News, Brydon’s appointment as “Project Flora’s” chair will underline the extent to which the Business Secretary wants a root-and-branch review of the audit market following scandals involving corporate failures at companies such as BHS and Carillion.