There has been another delay to the proposed idea to create a framework that allows accountants from the United Kingdom and the United States to work together across the two jurisdictions with more freedom than they currently enjoy. The proposal may arguably bring the most benefit to auditing firms that support multinational firms, so let’s look at this in more detail.
Slow progress, but hope for the future
Unfortunately, progress has slowed to a halt with regard to the discussions, even though there had been some evidence of the proposals working well during the initial pilot attempts.
It is thought that the main difficulty is the differences in the qualifications and registrations that must be obtained by accountants in the UK compared with the US. In the UK, accountants who wish to become auditors must complete further training and gain practical experience, while their American counterparts have fewer such requirements.
Of course, accountancy firms often work independently, particularly when they are directly providing accountancy services for local businesses; for example, accountants Bristol such as chippendaleandclark.com/accountants-near-me/bristol offer a full range of accountancy services.
The proposals mentioned focus on attracting talent from the US to the UK and vice versa, in addition to making accounting in multinational firms easier across the board.
What next?
It is hoped that talks on this subject will resume. Many accountancy regulatory bodies, such as the ICAS, are keen to resume talks, and there is considerable enthusiasm coming from the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms across the pond.