Accountants say bosses should share audit blame

Accountancy firms are pressing for company executives to also face punishment in cases of audit failures following a string of high-profile corporate collapses.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which regulates accountants, has come under fire on the back of the collapse of Carillion and BHS.

It has emerged that accountancy firms including Grant Thornton, BDO and Mazars have now argued that the regulator must be able to punish company bosses as well as auditors when things go wrong.

In their response to a review of the FRC being carried out by the UK Government, the firms say that chief executives and finance directors play a central role in the auditing of companies and should also face heavy sanctions.