Company Auditors

Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many auditors have been presented by her Department as a result of criticisms by her Department's inspectors in the last 10 years. [114909]

Miss Melanie Johnson
In relation to criticisms in reports of investigations by inspectors under sections 431, 432 and 442 of the Companies Act 1985 published since 1993, there have been six cases where auditors were specifically criticised by the inspectors: --------------------------------------------------------------
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|Astra Holding plc                                           |
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|The Bestwood plc/Atlanta Fund Managers Ltd.                 |
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|Atlantic Computers plc/Atlantic Computer Systems plc        |
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|James Ferguson Holdings plc/Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers Ltd.||
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|Chancery plc                                                |
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|Mirror Group Newspapers plc                                 |
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None of the auditors concerned were prosecuted by the Department but there have been a number of disciplinary actions by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ("ICAEW") and the Accounts' Joint Disciplinary Scheme ("JDS") as regards auditors and accountant directors.