European Commission plan to curb Big 4 Oligoply

It is reported that European Commission is expected to release a law, which could shake up the Big 4 audit firm's oligoply situation. Big 4 audit firms include: KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Ernst & Young

It's propsing that auditors be banned from providing consulting services to firms that they audit, to avoid the conflict of interest issue. From Accounting & Auditing blog's point of view, it is mandatory to maintain independence.

The said proposed plan also includes a requirement for the companies to change auditors every 9 years. In most of the european area, change of auditors rarely occur.

It's likely that the proposed plan will open up the competition within the auditing industry.

Working hours of Big 4 Auditors in ASEAN Countries

This post intends to give everyone a general idea of the working hours of Big 4 auditors in ASEAN.

Based on our talks and discussion with auditors in ASEAN.

During peak season, generally it falls on January- February of every year in ASEAN countries, auditors would stay up till at least 10.00p.m. till beyond midnight to complete the engagement. They are quite a number of Big 4 auditors have the experience of working overnight in office during peak season.

During off-peak season, auditors may leave the office earlier, generally at approximately 8.00pm till 10.00p.m.

However, the hours mentioned above is based on the average hours of the Big 4 auditors we have surveyed. We, genuinely believe that the working hours largely depends on the engagement been allocated.

If you have any ideas / comments on the working hours or you would like to share with us of your working hours as an auditor, kindly leave a comment and / or drop us an email at myauditing@gmail.com