Harney sets up accountancy body

The Tanaiste has established a 12-member auditing and accounting supervisory body to oversee the regulation of members by the accountancy bodies.

The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, initially established on an interim basis pending new legislation, will be chaired by Ms Karen Erwin, group general counsel and director of The Irish Times.

The accountancy profession will be represented by Mr Donal O'Connor, of Pricewaterhouse Coopers; Mr Tony Kelly of Byrne Curtin Kelly; and Mr Brendan Dennehy of BJ Dennehy.

Representatives from users of accountancy services and other regulatory bodies are Mr Liam O'Reilly of the Central Bank; Mr John Corcoran of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Mr Jim Kelly of the Revenue Commissioners; Mr Tom Healy of the Irish Stock Exchange; Ms Anne Fitzgerald of the Irish Association of Investment Managers; and Ms Anne Maher of the Pensions Board.

The social partners are also represented through Mr Ben Power, executive director of Greencore and Sen Joe O'Toole, the incoming president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The establishment of this authority was one of the key recommendations of the Review Group on Auditing following the DIRT inquiry report.

Ms Harney said: "The establishment of this new supervisory authority is a further step in ensuring that there will be stronger company law compliance and enforcement in place in Ireland and will further enhance the reputation of Ireland as a well-regulated jurisdiction."

The Review Group had recommended an eight-member oversight board but this was expanded to 12. The authority will have statutory powers to handle disciplinary hearings and impose fines of up to £100,000 (€127,064) where an accountancy body is deemed to have failed to supervise its members.