This paper represents the response of the undersigned to the EU Commission's consultation on auditing services . It draws attention to the need to clearly position the auditor in the agency relation to the shareholders, to make him clearly accountable to them, and this by introducing a shareholder committee in charge of appointing the auditor, determining his remuneration and receiving his report.
It further proposes to organise an oversight system on the audit professionals along the lines recently introduced in the field of financial services, based on a hub and spoke system.
Finally with the respect to the concentration issue that may have systemic aspects, it proposes to better organise the procedures for designating auditors by making the process more open, fair and transparent. Moreover, the top audit firms should organise themselves for possible systemic shocks.