Bruce Cartwright CA

The BTC will take oral evidence from key regulators, and from Justin Madders MP, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets at the Department for Business and Trade, and Lord Willetts, Chair of the Regulatory Innovation Office. The committee will ask whether regulators can get the balance right between protecting the public, the environment, enforcing fair markets and now, driving economic growth.

The future of regulation in the UK and how it can fulfil the often-conflicting goals are questions the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has been asking for some time. Indeed, ‘better regulation’ was the broad theme of the ICAS-organised House of Commons dinner for parliamentarians, held in March and hosted by BTC member, Gregor Poynton MP.

Liam Byrne, MP the Chair of the BTC said on Monday in the committee’s news release about this week’s session: “The truth is this: Britain cannot afford regulators who are merely paper tigers.

“Our energy markets are broken, our waterways are polluted, our financial watchdogs have missed scandal after scandal, yet these are the very people now tasked with regulating for economic growth. So, our session this week will examine whether regulators are getting the balance right. If they’re not, it’s time for serious reform. Because in today’s global race for investment, strong, smart regulation isn’t a luxury: it’s an economic imperative.”

Bruce Cartwright CA, CEO of ICAS, welcomed Mr Byrne’s comments and the Select Committee session, which will ask if regulators are up to the job.

He said: “We’ve long been calling for a wider discussion about proportionate, purposeful, and hopefully better regulation. The UK must urgently do three things; grow, by being attractive to investors, protect the environment in its widest sense and better protect the public interest. The sorts of corporate failures we’ve seen, such as BHS, Carillion and Patisserie Valerie have shown that such failures are often missed, with disastrous consequences for investors, staff, customers, the public and those whose pensions are invested with these companies.

“We understand better than most the need to balance the need for growth with responsibilities around risk - many of our members are running some of the most successful businesses at home and abroad. But we are concerned that a year on from the King’s speech, another government is dragging its heels when it comes to making sure the UK has the most suitable governance and regulation, able to achieve such a complex collection of roles and responsibilities.

“There is no excuse for further delay. The case for bringing forward the draft Audit and Corporate Reform legislation promised in the King’s speech last year has already been made by the previous and current government, opposition parties, business and the accountancy profession, but we’re still no further forward. Corporate failure can’t be prevented, but mechanisms can be put in place to make sure that the highest standards of governance and accountability are followed. This increases transparency, so when things do go wrong, contingency planning is improved and the opportunity to learn valuable lessons are increased. This can only increase investor confidence that the UK is a responsible place to do business.”