To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 10 March (HL5234), whether they have considered whether the Financial Reporting Council guidance would have caused the threshold for applying the going concern basis of accounting in the cases of Carillion and its subsidiary companies to...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 10 March (HL5234), whether they have considered whether the Financial Reporting Council guidance would have caused the threshold for applying the going concern basis of accounting in the cases of Carillion and its subsidiary companies to...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 10 March (HL5234), whether complying with accounting standards rather than the law was invoked by KPMG when the Insolvency Service sought £1.3 billion from KPMG in connection with its audits of Carillion plc and its subsidiary...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 10 March (HL5234), whether complying with accounting standards rather than the law was invoked by KPMG when the Insolvency Service sought £1.3 billion from KPMG in connection with its audits of Carillion plc and its subsidiary...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for securing this important and timely debate—important because trust in public information is essential to the proper functioning of our capital and equity markets, and timely because we all expect the long-awaited audit reform and corporate governance Bill later in...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for securing this important and timely debate—important because trust in public information is essential to the proper functioning of our capital and equity markets, and timely because we all expect the long-awaited audit reform and corporate governance Bill later in...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Sikka for securing this debate. He has great expertise in this area, and has reminded us today of the terrible fallout, not least in terms of human misery, from such high-profile corporate failures. The scandalous collapse of Carillion in 2018, and in...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Sikka for securing this debate. He has great expertise in this area, and has reminded us today of the terrible fallout, not least in terms of human misery, from such high-profile corporate failures. The scandalous collapse of Carillion in 2018, and in...

My Lords, I join others in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for tabling this important debate.

I am not a renowned academic in this area. My contribution is as somebody who has been a practitioner: I have been the CFO of two FTSE 100 companies and on the audit committee—or...

My Lords, I join others in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for tabling this important debate.

I am not a renowned academic in this area. My contribution is as somebody who has been a practitioner: I have been the CFO of two FTSE 100 companies and on the audit committee—or...

My Lords, this debate is about the manifest deficiencies in external auditing. That has been clear from the catastrophic collapses of major companies, including those mentioned in the Question: BHS, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, and London Capital and Finance. I have heard the remarks from the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, and...

My Lords, this debate is about the manifest deficiencies in external auditing. That has been clear from the catastrophic collapses of major companies, including those mentioned in the Question: BHS, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, and London Capital and Finance. I have heard the remarks from the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, and...

My Lords, during this debate we have heard references to the big four, which, as many in the House will recall, used to be the big five until 2002, when Arthur Andersen itself was dissolved as a result of accounting and auditing irregularities at Enron. We have heard about Carillion,...

My Lords, during this debate we have heard references to the big four, which, as many in the House will recall, used to be the big five until 2002, when Arthur Andersen itself was dissolved as a result of accounting and auditing irregularities at Enron. We have heard about Carillion,...

My Lords, I am pleased to respond to this Question for Short Debate. I thank my noble friend Lord Sikka for introducing it. I commend my noble friend for his commitment to and tireless campaign for more effective auditing. I thank all noble Lords for their valued contributions.

When companies fail...

My Lords, I am pleased to respond to this Question for Short Debate. I thank my noble friend Lord Sikka for introducing it. I commend my noble friend for his commitment to and tireless campaign for more effective auditing. I thank all noble Lords for their valued contributions.

When companies fail...

Lords question for short debate on what plans they have to address any external auditing deficiencies highlighted by the collapse of BHS, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, and London Capital and Finance.

Lords question for short debate on what plans they have to address any external auditing deficiencies highlighted by the collapse of BHS, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, and London Capital and Finance.

My Lords, I am honoured to open this debate and flag some of the issues, which I hope the Government will address. Ever since the collapse of BHS in 2016 and Carillion in 2018, the previous Government promised a Bill, but none materialised. This year, the King’s Speech promised an...

My Lords, I am honoured to open this debate and flag some of the issues, which I hope the Government will address. Ever since the collapse of BHS in 2016 and Carillion in 2018, the previous Government promised a Bill, but none materialised. This year, the King’s Speech promised an...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for enabling us to have this debate, which is timely. I thank him also for the forensic examination he has presented of some of the failures in the audit system. I have noted his concerns about the powers and responsibilities of...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, for enabling us to have this debate, which is timely. I thank him also for the forensic examination he has presented of some of the failures in the audit system. I have noted his concerns about the powers and responsibilities of...

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Treasury has received in fines from KPMG for audit failures at Carillion, and what consideration they have given to using these to support Carillion employees who lost some of their pension rights.

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Treasury has received in fines from KPMG for audit failures at Carillion, and what consideration they have given to using these to support Carillion employees who lost some of their pension rights.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the total costs incurred since January 2021 by (a) her Department and (b) the Insolvency Service in pursuing the disqualification proceedings dropped in October 2023 against five former board members of Carillion Construction Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the total costs incurred since January 2021 by (a) her Department and (b) the Insolvency Service in pursuing the disqualification proceedings dropped in October 2023 against five former board members of Carillion Construction Ltd.

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the final accounts for Carillion plc to be published by the Official Receiver following its liquidation in 2018.

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the final accounts for Carillion plc to be published by the Official Receiver following its liquidation in 2018.

Motion that this House has considered insolvency law and director disqualifications. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered insolvency law and director disqualifications. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered insolvency law and director disqualifications.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. Thank you for making time for this important debate.

Five years ago, Carillion collapsed in one of the biggest corporate scandals seen in recent years. Millions were racked...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered insolvency law and director disqualifications.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. Thank you for making time for this important debate.

Five years ago, Carillion collapsed in one of the biggest corporate scandals seen in recent years. Millions were racked...

I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. I would like to be here for the whole debate, Ms Fovargue, but I have another event to attend at 3.30 pm. I apologise for not being here for the whole debate. Nevertheless, I would like to make a contribution.

There is...

I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. I would like to be here for the whole debate, Ms Fovargue, but I have another event to attend at 3.30 pm. I apologise for not being here for the whole debate. Nevertheless, I would like to make a contribution.

There is...

I thank the hon. Member for his comments and I agree completely. There are huge issues surrounding the area of pre-pack administrations and the issue of phoenix companies, whereby directors

are allowed to reappear in another form with the same kind of company structure with complete impunity. This certainly needs...

I thank the hon. Member for his comments and I agree completely. There are huge issues surrounding the area of pre-pack administrations and the issue of phoenix companies, whereby directors

are allowed to reappear in another form with the same kind of company structure with complete impunity. This certainly needs...

Thank you, Ms Fovargue—I always find the pronunciation difficult. That is my fault, not that of the spelling. I do not have a lot to say, other than to compliment my hon. Friend the Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) on her speech. To be frank, I am...

Thank you, Ms Fovargue—I always find the pronunciation difficult. That is my fault, not that of the spelling. I do not have a lot to say, other than to compliment my hon. Friend the Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) on her speech. To be frank, I am...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. I congratulate the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) on securing the debate. Given its title, it could have gone in many directions, but I think we are coalescing around a theme.

Directors clearly have important duties...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. I congratulate the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) on securing the debate. Given its title, it could have gone in many directions, but I think we are coalescing around a theme.

Directors clearly have important duties...