Audit committees' activities were assessed
As a result of the financial crisis, the EU’s regulation on auditing was significantly reformed. The reformed regulation highlights the role of the audit committees of public-interest entities (PIEs, that is, listed companies, insurance companies and credit institutions) in promoting the credibility and quality of financial reporting and auditing. New tasks conferred on audit committees include issuing a recommendation on the appointment of the auditor and the approval of non-audit services.
The regulation also resulted in new tasks to authorities in monitoring the quality and competition in the market. The FIN-FSA was named the competent authority in the assessment and monitoring of the activities of PIEs audit committees, which further expands the FIN-FSA's scope of activity in this field: we have already been supervising the reliable governance of credit institutions and insurance companies. In other respects, the Board of Patents and Registrations is the competent authority referred to in EU regulation on auditing.
In the autumn, the FIN-FSA and the Board of Patents and Registrations arranged the first event for audit committees seeking to increase dialogue between audit committees and the authorities and to increase awareness of the authorities’ activities. Furthermore, the results of a survey on audit committees conducted in the review year were presented at the event. The survey mapped the activities of audit committees in Finland. A more detailed report on the results of the audit committee survey will be published in early 2020.