Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-26-Speech-1-119"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech⁶
dcterms:Date	"2005-09-26"^^xsd:date⁶
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Raamatupidamise ja konsolideeritud aastaaruannete kohustuslik auditeerimine⁶
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language⁶
lpv:document identification number	"en.20050926.15.1-119"⁶
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2005-09-26-Speech-1-120⁶
lpv:speaker	lp:Charlie McCreevy⁶
lpv:spoken text	". Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@en⁴
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@cs¹ "Hr. formand, jeg vil gerne takke de ærede medlemmer for deres bidrag og for deres store indsats under behandlingen af dette meget vigtige direktiv. Jeg burde nok fra starten have meldt ud, at jeg tidligere har arbejdet som revisor, og at jeg stadig indbetaler et årligt kontingent til den irske forening af statsautoriserede revisorer, selv om jeg, som jeg har sagt til mange mennesker, ikke ville sætte for stor lid til et regnskab, jeg evt. måtte blive bedt om at udarbejde i dag. Jeg burde nok have sagt dette indledningsvis. Hr. Doorn og andre har rejst spørgsmålet om revisionens troværdighed, og dette særlige område interesserer mig meget. Jeg har opfordret Kommissionen til at behandle spørgsmålet meget hurtigt. Undersøgelsen vil blive bestilt meget snart, således at vi bør kunne fremlægge vores resultater inden udgangen af 2006. Dette er hensigten, og forhåbentlig vil det være muligt at overholde denne tidsplan uden for meget besvær. Spørgsmålet om revisionsudvalg blev også drøftet. Revisionsudvalg er ofte nødvendige, idet de gør det nemmere for revisorer at modstå et evt. pres fra ledelsen. Europa-Parlamentet og Rådet går ind for, at medlemsstaterne i EU bør have et så stort spillerum som muligt til at udarbejde deres egne retningslinjer for revisionsudvalg i børsnoterede selskaber i den udstrækning, disse varetager alle de funktioner, der er angivet i vores direktiv. Vi har været fleksible på dette punkt, således at der i videst muligt omfang tages hensyn til disse betragtninger. Som fru McCarthy sagde, kan man have det måske bedste regelbaserede system i verden eller i det mindste tro, at man har det bedste regelbaserede system i verden, men det vil aldrig kunne forhindre en skandale eller et bedrageri, hvis mere end to mennesker i hemmelig forståelse udøver ulovlige aktiviteter, og dette hvad enten vi har et regelbaseret system eller ej - og husk på, at man i en periode havde et regelbaseret system i USA, og det forhindrede ikke nogen af skandalerne på den anden side af Atlanten, og et fuldt ud principbaseret system vil selvfølgelig heller ikke kunne forhindre dette. Ingen eksisterende revisionsprocedurer og interne kontrolforanstaltninger vil kunne yde fuldstændig garanti imod bedrageri og økonomiske forseelser. De bør imidlertid sikre, at man hurtigst muligt finder ud af, hvad der helt nøjagtigt er sket. Det er meget vigtig for erhvervslivet og for alle andre, at folk har tillid til revisorstanden, tillid til revisorernes uafhængighed og til de anvendte standarder og til revisorstandens etik. Jeg er bange for, at jeg som tidligere medlem af revisorstanden bliver nødt til at acceptere, at de seneste års skandaler har undermineret offentlighedens tillid til revisions- og regnskabserhvervet. Jeg tror, at det siger sig selv, og det er erhvervets opgave at sikre, at tilliden genoprettes, og at de forskellige ændringer, der er blevet gennemført, både af branchen og nu af EU-institutionerne, og som de tiltag, som medlemsstaterne forhåbentlig vil tage, vil betyde, at folk i højere grad har grund til at have tillid til, at revisorstandens standarder er de højst mulige. Som sagt blev komitologispørgsmålet rejst igen som under de forrige forhandlinger, og jeg gentager, at Kommissionen i forbindelse med det pågældende direktiv kan godkende forslaget om at suspendere det efter to år, idet artikel 26 er undtaget. Jeg takker medlemmerne for deres detaljerede bidrag."@da² "Herr Präsident! Ich möchte den Abgeordneten für ihre Beiträge und für die großartige Arbeit bei der Behandlung dieser sehr wichtigen Richtlinie danken. Vielleicht hätte ich zu Beginn erwähnen sollen, dass ich in meinen früheren Jahren Rechnungsprüfer war und noch immer meinen jährlichen Mitgliedsbeitrag an den irischen Wirtschaftsprüferverband zahle, obwohl ich mich – was ich schon vielen gesagt habe – nicht allzu sehr auf Prüfberichte verlassen würde, die ich heute für jemanden erstellen würde. Das hätte ich wohl zu Beginn sagen sollen. Herr Doorn und andere warfen die Frage der Zuverlässigkeit von Abschlussprüfungen auf, ein Thema ist, das mir persönlich sehr am Herzen liegt. Ich habe meine Dienststellen eindringlich gebeten, dieses Thema möglichst rasch anzugehen. Die Studie wird in Kürze in Auftrag gegeben, so dass es uns möglich sein sollte, unsere Erkenntnisse noch vor Ende 2006 vorzulegen. Das ist zumindest unser Vorsatz, und hoffentlich werden wir diesen Zeitplan problemlos einhalten können. Des Weiteren wurden die Prüfungsausschüsse angesprochen. Prüfungsausschüsse sind oftmals notwendig, um den Prüfern gegenüber möglichem Druck vom Management den Rücken zu stärken. Das Europäische Parlament und der Rat vertreten die Auffassung, dass den Mitgliedstaaten der EU möglichst viel Spielraum gelassen werden sollte, um ihr eigenes System für Prüfungsausschüsse für börsennotierte Unternehmen einzuführen, solange sie alle Aufgaben erfüllen, die in unserer Richtlinie genannt werden. Wir waren hier flexibel, um diese Anliegen weitestgehend zu berücksichtigen. Man kann, wie Frau McCarthy sagte, vielleicht das beste regelbasierte System der Welt haben oder zumindest glauben, man hätte das beste regelbasierte System der Welt, doch wird man einen Skandal oder Betrug niemals verhindern können, wenn sich mehr als zwei Menschen zusammentun, die Betrügereien im Schilde führen; ganz egal, ob wir nun ein regelbasiertes System haben oder nicht – und Sie sollten nicht vergessen, dass es in den USA eine Zeit lang ein regelbasiertes System gab, das keinen dieser Skandale jenseits des Atlantiks verhindern konnte, und ebenso wenig wird das natürlich ein rein prinzipienbasiertes System schaffen. Keine Abschlussprüfungsverfahren der Welt und keine internen Kontrollmechanismen werden zu 100 % garantieren können, dass Betrügereien oder Finanzdelikte niemals stattfinden. Allerdings sollten die Menschen nach möglichst kurzer Zeit genau sehen können, was vor sich geht. Es ist für die Geschäftswelt und für jedermann sehr wichtig, dass die Menschen Vertrauen in den Berufsstand der Abschlussprüfer haben, Vertrauen in die Unabhängigkeit der Prüfer, in die Art der Standards, an die sie sich halten, und in ihre Berufsethik. Als früherer Angehöriger dieses Berufsstandes muss ich wohl oder übel eingestehen, dass die Skandale der letzten Jahre das Vertrauen der Öffentlichkeit in den Berufsstand der Abschluss- und Wirtschaftsprüfer erschüttert haben. Ich glaube, das versteht sich von selbst, und es ist jetzt Aufgabe des Berufsstandes, dafür zu sorgen, dass das Vertrauen wiederhergestellt wird und dass die zahlreichen Veränderungen, die einerseits innerhalb dieses Berufsfeldes und jetzt auch seitens der europäischen Institutionen und andererseits auch hoffentlich bald von den Mitgliedstaaten vorgenommen werden, die Menschen eher zu der Überzeugung bringen, dass wir in der Abschlussprüfungsbranche die höchsten Standards haben, die möglich sind. Wie ich bereits sagte, ist die Frage der Komitologie angesprochen worden, wie es auch in der Aussprache zuvor der Fall war, und ich wiederhole, dass der Vorschlag, sie nach zwei Jahren aufzuheben – mit Ausnahme von Artikel 26 – von der Kommission bei dieser konkreten Richtlinie akzeptiert werden kann. Ich danke den Abgeordneten für ihre ausführlichen Beiträge."@de⁹ ". Κύριε Πρόεδρε, θα ήθελα να ευχαριστήσω τους αξιότιμους βουλευτές για τη συμβολή τους και για το σπουδαίο έργο τους κατά την εξέταση αυτής της σημαντικότατης οδηγίας. Θα έπρεπε ίσως να είχα δηλώσει από την αρχή ότι υπήρξα στο παρελθόν ελεγκτής και ότι εξακολουθώ να πληρώνω ετήσια συνδρομή στο Ιρλανδικό Ινστιτούτο Ορκωτών Λογιστών, αν και, όπως έχω πει σε πολλούς, δεν θα ήθελα να βασίζομαι πάρα πολύ σε οποιουσδήποτε λογαριασμούς θα προετοίμαζα τώρα για οποιονδήποτε. Μάλλον θα έπρεπε να το είχα πει αυτό από την αρχή. Ο κ. Doorn και άλλοι έθιξαν το θέμα της αξιοπιστίας των ελέγχων και, προσωπικά, έχω μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον για το συγκεκριμένο αυτό θέμα. Ζήτησα από τις υπηρεσίες μου να αντιμετωπίσουν αυτό το ζήτημα ως εξαιρετικά επείγον. Η μελέτη θα ανατεθεί σύντομα ούτως, ώστε να είμαστε κανονικά έτοιμοι να παρουσιάσουμε τα πορίσματά μας πριν από το τέλος του 2006. Αυτή είναι η πρόθεσή μας και ελπίζω ότι θα είναι εφικτό να τηρήσουμε αυτό το χρονοδιάγραμμα με σχετική ευκολία. Τέθηκε επίσης το ζήτημα των ελεγκτικών επιτροπών. Οι ελεγκτικές επιτροπές είναι συχνά απαραίτητες για να βοηθούν τους ελεγκτές να αντιστέκονται στις ενδεχόμενες πιέσεις από τη διεύθυνση. Το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο και το Συμβούλιο υποστηρίζουν την άποψη ότι θα πρέπει να δοθεί στα κράτη μέλη της ΕΕ η μέγιστη δυνατή ελευθερία να επινοήσουν το δικό τους σύστημα ελεγκτικών επιτροπών για τις εισηγμένες εταιρείες, εφόσον αυτές επιτελούν όλες τις λειτουργίες που περιλαμβάνονται στην οδηγία μας. Στο θέμα αυτό ήμασταν ευέλικτοι, ώστε να καθησυχάσουμε αυτές τις ανησυχίες όσο ήταν δυνατόν. Ενδεχομένως, όπως είπε η κ. McCarthy, να διαθέτουμε το καλύτερο σύστημα κανόνων στον κόσμο ή, τουλάχιστον, να νομίζουμε ότι διαθέτουμε το καλύτερο σύστημα κανόνων στον κόσμο, αλλά ποτέ δεν θα αποτρέψει ένα σκάνδαλο ή μια απάτη, εάν περισσότεροι από δύο άνθρωποι συνωμοτήσουν προσπαθώντας να στήσουν κάποια παράνομη δραστηριότητα· αυτό μπορεί να συμβεί είτε διαθέτουμε ένα σύστημα κανόνων είτε όχι – και, θυμηθείτε, στις ΗΠΑ διέθεταν ένα τέτοιο σύστημα κανόνων για αρκετό καιρό χωρίς να καταφέρουν να αποτρέψουν τα σκάνδαλα στη δική τους πλευρά του Ατλαντικού, και το ίδιο ισχύει φυσικά και για ένα σύστημα απόλυτα βασισμένο σε αρχές. Καμιά ελεγκτική διαδικασία στον κόσμο και κανένας μηχανισμός εσωτερικού ελέγχου σε λειτουργία δεν θα μπορέσει να εγγυηθεί κατά 100% ότι δεν θα συμβεί ποτέ απάτη ή οικονομική ατασθαλία. Ωστόσο, θα πρέπει να μας επιτρέπει να μαθαίνουμε το συντομότερο δυνατόν τι ακριβώς συμβαίνει. Είναι πολύ σημαντικό για τις επιχειρήσεις και για όλους μας να υπάρχει εμπιστοσύνη στο επάγγελμα του ελεγκτή, εμπιστοσύνη στην ανεξαρτησία των ελεγκτών, στο είδος των προτύπων που εφαρμόζουν και στη δεοντολογία του επαγγέλματος. Δυστυχώς, ως πρώην μέλος αυτής της επαγγελματικής ομάδας οφείλω να παραδεχθώ ότι τα σκάνδαλα των τελευταίων ετών έχουν υπονομεύσει την εμπιστοσύνη του κοινού στους ελέγχους και στο επάγγελμα του λογιστή. Νομίζω ότι αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να ειπωθεί και είναι υποχρέωση του επαγγέλματος να εξασφαλίσει ότι η εμπιστοσύνη θα αποκατασταθεί και ότι οι διάφορες αλλαγές που έγιναν, τόσο εντός του κλάδου όσο και τώρα από τα ευρωπαϊκά όργανα, όπως και οι ενέργειες στις οποίες ελπίζουμε ότι θα προβούν τα κράτη μέλη, θα πείσουν το κοινό ότι τα πρότυπα του ελεγκτικού επαγγέλματος είναι τόσο υψηλά όσο είναι ανθρωπίνως δυνατόν. Όπως είπα και προηγουμένως, τέθηκε και εδώ, όπως και στην προηγούμενη συζήτηση, το ζήτημα της επιτροπολογίας και επαναλαμβάνω ότι η πρόταση να ανασταλεί έπειτα από δύο έτη, με εξαίρεση το άρθρο 26, είναι αποδεκτή από την Επιτροπή για αυτήν τη συγκεκριμένη οδηγία. Ευχαριστώ τους βουλευτές για τις λεπτομερείς συμβολές τους."@el¹⁰ ". Señor Presidente, quiero dar las gracias a sus Señorías por sus aportaciones y por la gran labor que están llevando en torno a esta Directiva tan importante. Probablemente debería haber dicho desde un principio que he sido auditor y que aún pago mi cuota anual al Instituto Irlandés de Auditores Públicos, si bien, como he dicho a numerosas personas, yo no confiaría demasiado en las cuentas que pudiera elaborar actualmente para nadie. Me parece que debía haberlo dicho desde el principio. El señor Doorn y otros han planteado la cuestión de la fiabilidad de las auditorías, un tema que me interesa mucho personalmente. He pedido a mis servicios que estudien esta cuestión con carácter urgente. En breve encargaremos un estudio para poder presentar nuestros resultados antes de que termine 2006. Esa es nuestra intención y esperamos poder cumplir fácilmente este calendario. Asimismo se planteó la cuestión de los comités de auditoría. A menudo, los comités de auditoría resultan necesarios para ayudar a que los auditores puedan cubrirse las espaldas contra posibles presiones por parte de la dirección de la sociedad. El Parlamento Europeo y el Consejo sostienen que es necesario dejar todo el margen que sea posible a los Estados miembros de la UE para que creen su propio sistema de comités de auditoría de sociedades autorizadas, siempre que lleven a cabo todas las funciones que contempla nuestra Directiva. Hemos sido flexibles en este aspecto para tener en cuenta, en la medida de lo posible, estas preocupaciones. Quizá, como ha señalado la señora McCarthy, podemos tener el mejor sistema normativo del mundo o al menos podemos creer que tenemos el mejor sistema normativo del mundo, pero dicho sistema nunca evitará que se produzca un escándalo o un fraude si varias personas se ponen de acuerdo para intentar llevar a cabo una actividad fraudulenta, independientemente de que exista o no un sistema normativo, y tenemos que recordar, que en los Estados Unidos tienen un sistema normativo desde hace tiempo y que este impidió ninguno de los escándalos del otro lado del Atlántico ni ningún sistema normativo basado absolutamente en principios podrá hacerlo. Ningún procedimiento de control de cuentas del mundo y ningún mecanismo de control interno pueden garantizar al 100 % que nunca se producirá un caso de fraude o delito financiero. Sin embargo, debería permitir, en el plazo más breve posible, saber lo que está ocurriendo. Para las empresas y para todo el mundo es de suma importancia tener confianza en la profesión de la auditoría, confianza en la independencia de los auditores, en la clase de normas que deben cumplir y en la ética de la profesión. Me temo que tengo que aceptar, en mi calidad de antiguo miembro de esa profesión, que los escándalos de los últimos años han hecho que el público pierda la confianza en la profesión contable y de auditoría. Me parece que no hace falta decir que corresponde a la profesión recuperar esa confianza y que los diversos cambios introducidos, tanto dentro de la profesión, como ahora por parte de las instituciones europeas, al igual que probablemente hagan los Estados miembros, permitan a la gente volver a creer en las normas de la profesión de la auditoría. Una vez más, como ya he dicho, se ha planteado la cuestión de la comitología, al igual que lo hizo en el debate precedente, y repito que la Comisión puede aceptar propuesta de suspender las competencias de ejecución tras dos años, excepto en el caso del artículo 26, para esta Directiva. Quiero dar las gracias a sus Señorías por sus detalladas contribuciones."@es²⁰ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@et⁵ ". Arvoisa puhemies, haluan kiittää arvoisia jäseniä heidän puheenvuoroistaan ja suurenmoisesta työstä, jota he ovat tehneet tämän hyvin tärkeän direktiivin saattamiseksi käsittelyyn. Heti aluksi minun olisi kai pitänyt ilmoittaa, että olin edellisessä elämässäni tilintarkastaja ja että maksan edelleen Irlannin kirjanpitäjien yhdistyksen (Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants) jäsenmaksun, vaikka, kuten olen monille henkilöille todennut, en luottaisi liikaa siihen kirjanpitoon, jota nyt alkaisin jollekulle laatia. Minun olisi varmaan pitänyt kertoa tämä heti alkajaisiksi. Jäsen Doorn ja muutkin jäsenet ottivat esiin tilintarkastuksen luotettavuuden, ja olen itse varsin kiinnostunut juuri tästä asiasta. Olen kehottanut yksiköitäni käsittelemään tätä asiaa erittäin kiireellisenä. Tutkimus tilataan piakkoin, joten tulokset pitäisi voida esitellä ennen vuoden 2006 loppua. Tämä on aikomuksemme, ja toivottavasti pysymme tässä aikataulussa ilman ongelmia. Lisäksi otettiin esiin tilintarkastuskomiteat. Tilintarkastuskomiteat ovat usein tarpeellisia, jotta tilintarkastajat kestäisivät paremmin johdon mahdollisesti harjoittamaa painostusta. Euroopan parlamentti ja neuvosto kannattavat sitä, että EU:n jäsenvaltioille olisi annettava mahdollisimman paljon liikkumavaraa, jotta ne voivat kehittää oman järjestelmänsä julkisesti noteerattujen yhtiöiden tilintarkastuskomiteoita varten, kunhan kaikki direktiivissämme luetellut tehtävät suoritetaan. Olemme olleet tässä asiassa joustavia, jotta nämä näkökohdat on voitu ottaa mahdollisimman kattavasti huomioon. Kuten jäsen McCarthy totesi, jossakin saattaa olla käytössä maailman paras sääntöihin perustuva järjestelmä, tai ainakin saatetaan ajatella, että käytössä on maailman paras sääntöihin perustuva järjestelmä, mutta sen avulla ei voida koskaan estää skandaaleja tai petoksia, jos enemmän kuin kaksi ihmistä yrittää yhdessä varmistaa vilpillisen toiminnan toteutumisen. Näin on siitä riippumatta, onko käytössämme sääntöihin perustuva järjestelmä vaiko ei. Muistattehan, että Yhdysvalloissa oli jo jonkin aikaa ollut käytössä sääntöihin perustuva järjestelmä, mutta sen avulla ei pystytty estämään yhtäkään skandaalia Atlantin toisella puolella. On myös selvää, että tähän ei pystytä myöskään järjestelmällä, joka perustuu nimenomaan periaatteisiin. Maailmassa ei ole sellaisia tilintarkastusmenettelyjä eikä sellaisia käytössä olevia sisäisiä valvontajärjestelmiä, joilla voitaisiin taata sataprosenttisesti se, että petoksia tai taloudellisia väärinkäytöksiä ei tapahdu. Tämän järjestelmän avulla voidaan kuitenkin mahdollisimman pian antaa kaikille mahdollisuus selvittää tarkasti, mikä on tilanne. Yrityksille ja meille kaikille on hyvin tärkeää, että tilintarkastajien ammattiin, heidän riippumattomuuteensa, heidän käyttämiinsä standardeihin ja tämän ammattikunnan etiikkaan luotetaan. Pelkäänpä, että minun on tämän ammattikunnan entisenä jäsenenä myönnettävä, että viime vuosien skandaalit ovat heikentäneet kansalaisten luottamusta tilintarkastukseen ja kirjanpitäjän ammattiin. Mielestäni tämä on sanomattakin selvää, ja alan ammatinharjoittajien tehtävänä on huolehtia luottamuksen palauttamisesta ja siitä, että useat ammattikunnan sisällä ja nyttemmin Euroopan toimielimissä tehdyt muutokset sekä ne muutokset, joihin jäsenvaltiot toivottavasti ryhtyvät, antavat kansalaisille enemmän aihetta luottaa siihen, että tilintarkastuksen standardit ovat niin korkeat kuin mihin suinkin pystymme. Kuten jo totesinkin, komitologia otettiin jälleen kerran esiin, kuten edellisessäkin keskustelussa, ja toistan, että komissio voi tämän direktiivin osalta – 26 artiklaa lukuun ottamatta – hyväksyä ehdotuksen toimivallan peruuntumisesta kahden vuoden kuluttua. Kiitän jäseniä heidän yksityiskohtaisista puheenvuoroistaan."@fi⁷ ". Monsieur le Président, je voudrais remercier les honorables députés pour leurs contributions à ce débat et pour l’excellent travail qu’ils ont réalisé afin que cette directive très importante soit abordée. J’aurais dû vous dire d’emblée que, dans une autre vie, j’ai été contrôleur de comptes et que, aujourd’hui encore, je paie une cotisation annuelle à l’Institut irlandais des experts comptables, même si, comme je l’ai dit à de nombreuses personnes, je ne me fierais pas trop aux comptes que je pourrais établir aujourd’hui pour quelqu’un. Je suppose que j’aurais dû le dire dès le début. M. Doorn et d’autres ont abordé la question de la fiabilité des contrôles, qui m’intéresse tout particulièrement. J’ai demandé instamment à mes services de se pencher de toute urgence sur ce problème. L’étude sera commanditée d’ici peu afin que nous puissions présenter nos conclusions avant la fin de l’année 2006. C’est là notre intention, et j’espère que nous pourrons nous en tenir à ce calendrier avec une certaine facilité. Il a également été question des comités d’audit. Les comités d’audit sont souvent nécessaires pour aider les contrôleurs à résister à la pression que pourraient exercer les dirigeants des sociétés. Le Parlement européen et le Conseil partagent l’avis qu’il faut laisser autant de marge de manœuvre que possible aux États membres afin qu’ils inventent leur propre système de contrôle des sociétés cotées en bourse, à condition qu’ils exercent toutes les fonctions énumérées dans notre directive. Nous avons fait preuve de flexibilité afin de tenir compte de ces préoccupations dans la mesure du possible. Comme l’a dit Mme McCarthy, vous pouvez avoir le meilleur système fondé sur des règles du monde, ou du moins croire que vous avez le meilleur système de ce genre, mais cela n’empêchera pas le scandale ou la fraude si plus de deux personnes s’associent pour exercer une activité frauduleuse. Peu importe que nous disposions d’un système fondé sur des règles - rappelez-vous, les États-Unis ont utilisé un système de ce genre pendant un certain temps et cela n’a pas empêché les scandales de se produire de ce côté-là de l’Atlantique. Un système absolument basé sur des principes ne les empêchera pas non plus, bien entendu. Aucune procédure d’audit au monde ni aucun mécanisme de contrôle interne mis en place ne pourront garantir à 100% l’absence de fraudes ou de malversations financières. Toutefois, un système basé sur des principes devrait, dans le délai le plus court possible, permettre aux citoyens de découvrir exactement ce qui se passe. Il est très important, pour les entreprises et pour tout le monde, que les citoyens aient confiance dans la profession de l’audit, dans l’indépendance des contrôleurs, dans le type de normes auxquelles ils obéissent et dans l’éthique de la profession. En tant qu’ancien praticien de la profession, j’ai peur de devoir accepter le fait que les scandales survenus ces dernières années ont sapé la confiance du public dans la profession de l’audit et de la comptabilité. Je pense que c’est évident, et il incombe aux professionnels du secteur d’œuvrer au rétablissement de cette confiance et de veiller à ce que les divers changements qui ont été apportés, tant au sein de la profession que par les institutions européennes aujourd’hui, donneront aux gens de bonnes raisons de croire que les normes de la profession de l’audit sont aussi élevées que possible. Comme je l’ai déjà dit, la question de la comitologie a été soulevée, comme ce fut le cas dans le débat précédent, et je répète que la proposition visant à la suspendre après deux ans, sauf pour l’article 26, est acceptable aux yeux de la Commission dans cette directive particulière. Je remercie les députés pour leurs contributions détaillées."@fr⁸ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@hu¹¹ "Signor Presidente, vorrei ringraziare gli onorevoli deputati per i loro interventi e per gli eccellenti contributi che hanno apportato a questa importante direttiva. Fin dall’inizio del dibattito probabilmente avrei dovuto informarvi che, in passato, sono stato revisore dei conti e tuttora verso una quota annuale all’associazione irlandese dei revisori ufficiali dei conti anche se – come ho spesso affermato – non farei grande affidamento su una contabilità sottoposta alla mia revisione. Forse avrei dovuto dirlo ben prima. L’onorevole Doorn e altri hanno sollevato la questione della responsabilità della revisione contabile, e personalmente sono molto interessato al problema; infatti ho sollecitato i miei servizi ad affrontare questo tema con particolare urgenza. Lo studio sarà commissionato tra breve così che, entro la fine del 2006, saremo pronti per presentare i dati a nostra disposizione. Questa è la nostra intenzione e mi auguro che riusciremo a rispettare il calendario senza troppe difficoltà. Si è parlato anche di comitati interni per la revisione contabile, che sono spesso necessari per aiutare i revisori contabili a resistere alle eventuali pressioni che vengono esercitate dalla dirigenza. Il Parlamento europeo ed il Consiglio ritengono opportuno lasciare il maggior margine di manovra possibile agli Stati membri dell’Unione, affinché essi individuino un proprio sistema per i comitati interni per la revisione contabile delle aziende quotate in Borsa, a condizione che questi svolgano tutte le funzioni elencate nella nostra direttiva. Siamo stati sufficientemente flessibili e abbiamo tenuto conto di tali preoccupazioni. Forse, come ha affermato l’onorevole McCarthy, per quanto efficace sia il sistema basato sull’approccio normativo, non si potranno mai scongiurare scandali o in caso di collusione tra più di due persone che intendono svolgere attività fraudolente; al di là del fatto che disponiamo o meno di un sistema basato sull’approccio normativo, sappiate che negli Stati Uniti, per un certo periodo, tale sistema esisteva ma non è bastato a scongiurare gli scandali che si sono abbattuti su quella sponda dell’Atlantico, come del resto non servirebbe un sistema basato sui principi. Nessuna procedura di revisione contabile al mondo e nessun meccanismo di controllo interno potrà evitare con assoluta certezza le frodi o i reati finanziari; dovrà però consentire, nel minor tempo possibile, di capire esattamente che cosa sta succedendo. E’ importante per le aziende e per i cittadini che la gente abbia fiducia nella professione di revisore contabile, nell’autonomia dei revisori contabili e nel tipo di norme che essi rispettano e nell’etica della professione. Purtroppo devo riconoscere, avendo svolto questa professione in passato, che gli scandali degli ultimi anni hanno minato la fiducia dell’opinione pubblica nella revisione contabile e nella professione di revisore. Sta proprio al revisore ripristinare questa fiducia e far sì che i diversi cambiamenti che sono stati apportati – sia nell’ambito della professione che adesso da parte delle Istituzioni europee –, nonché quelli che ci auguriamo saranno effettuati dagli Stati membri, rassicurino la popolazione sull’alta qualità delle norme che disciplinano la professione di revisore contabile. Come ho già detto, la questione della comitatologia è già stata sollevata nella precedente discussione, e ripeterò che la Commissione può accettare la proposta di sospensione dopo due anni, eccezion fatta per l’articolo 26, in questa specifica direttiva. Ringrazio gli onorevoli deputati per i loro circostanziati interventi."@it¹² "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@lt¹⁴ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@lv¹³ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@mt¹⁵ "Mijnheer de Voorzitter, ik dank de geachte afgevaardigden voor hun bijdragen en voor het enorme werk dat zij hebben verricht om dit bijzonder belangrijke dossier af te handelen. Wellicht had ik moeten beginnen met te zeggen dat ik in mijn vorige leven accountant was en dat ik nog steeds een jaarlijkse bijdrage betaal aan het Iers Genootschap van beëdigde accountants, maar zoals ik al aan zoveel mensen heb verteld, zou ik niet al te veel vertrouwen meer stellen in mijn boekhoudkunst als ik thans iemands rekeningen zou moeten opstellen. Ik geloof dat ik dat meteen had moeten zeggen. De heer Doorn heeft hier samen met nog enkele andere sprekers het probleem van de aansprakelijkheid van accountants aan de orde gesteld. Dat is een kwestie die mij zeer ter harte gaat. Ik heb mijn diensten dan ook opgedragen om dit punt met de grootste spoed te behandelen. De studie zal binnenkort worden uitgevoerd zodat wij in staat zouden moeten zijn om onze bevindingen nog vóór eind 2006 kenbaar te maken. Dat is ons streefdoel en wij hopen dat het mogelijk zal zijn om dit tijdschema zonder problemen na te leven. Er is ook verwezen naar de auditcomités. Die zijn vaak nodig om te voorkomen dat accountants bezwijken onder de druk van de directie. Het Europees Parlement en de Raad zijn van oordeel dat de lidstaten van de EU zoveel mogelijk speelruimte moeten krijgen om een eigen systeem voor auditcomités van beursgenoteerde ondernemingen op te zetten zolang alle functies die in onze richtlijn worden genoemd naar behoren worden uitgevoerd. Wij zijn flexibel geweest en hebben geprobeerd om in de mate van het mogelijke aan deze wensen tegemoet te komen. Misschien heeft mevrouw McCarthy gelijk wanneer zij zegt dat je onmogelijk schandalen of fraude kunt voorkomen als meer dan twee mensen samenspannen om frauduleuze praktijken te laten plaatsvinden, zelfs als je in het bezit bent of denkt te zijn van het beste op regels gebaseerde systeem ter wereld. Het maakt niet uit of wij al dan niet over een op regels gebaseerd systeem beschikken. Vergeet u niet dat de Verenigde Staten een tijdlang zo’n systeem gehanteerd hebben, en toch heeft dat geen van de schandalen aan de overzijde van de Atlantische Oceaan kunnen voorkomen, net zomin als een uitsluitend op beginselen gebaseerd systeem dat zou kunnen. Immers, geen enkele auditprocedure en geen enkel intern controlemechanisme ter wereld is in staat om fraude en financiële wandaden geheel en al te voorkomen. Het systeem moet echter waarborgen dat zo snel mogelijk kan worden achterhaald wat er precies aan de hand is. Het is bijzonder belangrijk voor de handel en voor eenieder van ons dat mensen vertrouwen hebben in het accountantsberoep, in de onafhankelijkheid van de accountants, in het soort normen dat zij toepassen en in de beroepsethiek. Ik vrees dat ik als voormalig lid van deze beroepssector moet erkennen dat de schandalen van de laatste jaren het vertrouwen van de burger in de controlemechanismen en het accountantsberoep hebben ondermijnd. Dat staat mijns inziens als een paal boven water. Het is dan ook de taak van de accountants om dit vertrouwen te herstellen en ervoor te zorgen dat de veranderingen die zijn doorgevoerd door de sector zelf en nu ook door de Europese instellingen, in combinatie met de acties die de lidstaten hopelijk nog zullen ondernemen, overtuigend genoeg zijn om de burgers te doen geloven dat de normen van het accountantsberoep zo hoog liggen als mogelijk is. Zoals ik al eerder zei, worden wij ook hier, net zoals in het vorige debat, geconfronteerd met het comitologievraagstuk. Ik herhaal dat het voorstel voor een tweejarige opschorting, met uitzondering van artikel 26, voor de Commissie met betrekking tot deze specifieke richtlijn aanvaardbaar is. Ik dank de afgevaardigden voor hun gedetailleerde bijdragen."@nl³ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@pl¹⁶ "Senhor Presidente, gostaria de agradecer aos senhores deputados as suas contribuições, bem como o enorme trabalho realizado na análise desta importante directiva. Provavelmente, deveria ter declarado logo de início que, no passado, fui revisor oficial e que ainda pago uma quota anual como sócio do muito embora, como já disse a muitas pessoas, actualmente preferisse não confiar demasiado em qualquer contabilidade que agora preparasse para quem quer que fosse. Creio que devia ter dito isto logo de início. O senhor deputado Doorn e outros levantaram a questão da fiabilidade das auditorias. Pessoalmente, tenho particular interesse por este domínio. Insisti com os meus serviços em que tratassem este assunto com grande urgência. O estudo irá ser encomendado dentro em breve, de molde a estarmos prontos a apresentar as nossas conclusões antes do final de 2006. Esta é a nossa intenção e esperamos poder cumprir esse calendário com uma certa facilidade. Pôs-se igualmente a questão a respeito das comissões de auditoria, frequentemente necessárias para ajudar os revisores oficiais de contas a manterem-se firmes contra possíveis pressões da administração. O Parlamento Europeu e o Conselho apoiam o ponto de vista de que devia deixar-se o máximo de espaço de manobra aos Estados-Membros da UE para inventarem o seu próprio sistema para comissões de auditoria de companhias registadas, desde que estas desempenhem as funções catalogadas na nossa directiva. Temos sido flexíveis, tendo, na medida do possível, em consideração estas preocupações. Tal como afirmou a senhora deputada McCarthy, talvez os senhores possam ter o sistema baseado nas melhores regras do mundo, ou, pelo menos, pensar que o têm, mas isso jamais impedirá um escândalo ou uma fraude, se mais de duas pessoas se conluiarem, na tentativa de assegurar qualquer actividade fraudulenta. Tenhamos ou não um sistema baseado em regras - e não se esqueçam de que nos Estados Unidos tiveram, durante algum tempo, um sistema baseado em regras, e que tal não impediu qualquer dos escândalos registados nesse lado do Atlântico, tal como acontecerá, evidentemente, com um sistema absolutamente baseado em princípios. Não existe no mundo processo de auditoria, nem mecanismo de controlo interno, que possa garantir absolutamente que jamais terá lugar qualquer fraude ou qualquer infracção financeira. Não obstante, um mecanismo desse tipo deveria, após o mais breve prazo possível, permitir que se descobrisse o que estaria exactamente a acontecer. É extremamente importante para as empresas e para todos poder confiar na profissão de revisor oficial de contas, na independência dos revisores de contas, no tipo de critérios a que estes aderem, bem como nos princípios éticos da profissão. Como antigo membro da profissão, lamento ter de admitir que os escândalos dos últimos anos têm minado a confiança do público na auditoria e nos contabilistas como profissão. Penso ser natural e que compete agora à profissão assegurar o restabelecimento da confiança e que as diversas alterações efectuadas, no seio da profissão e agora pelas Instituições europeias, bem como aquilo que, esperamos, irão fazer os Estados-Membros, proporcionem aos cidadãos motivos adicionais para crerem que os critérios da auditoria profissional são tão elevados quanto está ao nosso alcance fazer com que o sejam. Tal como já disse, foi levantada a questão da comitologia, tal como foi no debate anterior, e, repito, a Comissão considera admissível a proposta nesta particular Directiva de, à excepção do Artigo 26º, a suspender ao fim de dois anos. Os meus agradecimentos aos senhores deputados pelas suas minuciosas contribuições."@pt¹⁷ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@sk¹⁸ "Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their contributions and for their great work in getting this very important Directive dealt with. At the outset I probably should have declared that in my past life I was an auditor and I still pay an annual subscription to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, even though, as I have said to many people, I would not like to be too reliant on any set of accounts I would now prepare for anybody. I suppose I should have said that at the outset. Mr Doorn and others raised the question of audit reliability and personally I take a great interest in this particular area. I have urged my services to treat this issue with great urgency. The study will be commissioned shortly so that we should be ready to put forward our findings before the end of 2006. That is our intention and hopefully it will be possible to adhere to that timetable with some ease. The question was also raised about audit committees. Audit committees are often necessary to help auditors keep their backs straight against possible pressure from management. The European Parliament and the Council support the view that as much leeway as possible should be left to the Member States of the EU to invent their own system for audit committees of listed companies as long as they perform all the functions listed in our Directive. We have been flexible here to accommodate these concerns as far as possible. Perhaps, as Mrs McCarthy said, you can have to best rules-based system in the world, or at least think you have the best rules-based system in the world, but it will never prevent a scandal or fraud if more than two people collude in trying to ensure that some fraudulent activity takes place; no matter whether or not we have a rules-based system – and remember, they had a rules-based system in the United States for some time and it did not prevent any of the scandals on that side of the Atlantic, and nor of course will an absolutely principles-based system either. No auditing procedures in the world and no internal control mechanisms put in place will be able to 100% guarantee that fraud or financial wrongdoing will never take place. However, it should, after the shortest possible period of time, allow people to find out exactly what is going on. It is very important for business and for everybody that people have confidence in the auditing profession, confidence in the independence of auditors, in the type of standards that they adhere to and in the ethics of the profession. I am afraid that I would have to accept, as an erstwhile member of that profession, that the scandals of recent years have undermined the public's confidence in the auditing and accounting profession. I think that goes without saying and it is the job of the profession to make sure that confidence is restored and that the various changes that have been made, both within the profession and now by the European institutions, as well as what hopefully the Members States will do, will give people greater cause to believe that the standards of the auditing profession are as high as we can make them. Again as I have said, the question of comitology was raised as it was in the previous debate, and I repeat that the proposal to suspend it after two years, except for Article 26, is acceptable to the Commission in this particular Directive. I thank the Members for their detailed contributions."@sl¹⁹ ". Herr talman! Jag vill tacka de ärade ledamöterna för deras inlägg och deras fantastiska arbete när det gäller att ta itu med detta mycket viktiga direktiv. Jag skulle kanske sagt från början att jag tidigare i mitt liv arbetade som revisor, och jag betalar fortfarande medlemsavgiften varje år till Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants, även om jag, som jag har sagt till många människor, nu för tiden inte skulle sätta alltför stor tilltro till något revisionsarbete jag skulle göra åt någon. Jag antar att jag borde ha sagt detta från början. Bert Doorn och andra tog upp frågan om revisionens tillförlitlighet, och jag är personligen mycket intresserad av just detta område. Jag har bett mina tjänstemän att ta itu med denna fråga så snabbt som möjligt. Undersökningen kommer att beställas snart, så vi borde kunna lägga fram våra resultat före utgången av 2006. Detta är vår avsikt, och förhoppningsvis kommer det att bli möjligt att följa denna tidsplan utan svårigheter. Frågan om revisionskommittéer togs också upp. Revisionskommittéer behövs ofta för att hjälpa revisorer att stå emot det eventuella trycket från bolagsledningen. Europaparlamentet och rådet stöder åsikten att man måste ge EU:s medlemsstater så stor frihet som möjligt att fundera ut sitt eget system för revisionskommittéer till börsnoterade företag så länge som de utövar alla funktioner som räknas upp i direktivet. Här har vi varit flexibla för att så långt som möjligt lyssna till dessa synpunkter. Som Arlene McCarthy sa kan man kanske ha världens bästa regelbaserade system, eller åtminstone tro att man har det, men det kan aldrig förhindra en skandal eller ett bedrägeri om fler än två personer konspirerar för att försöka se till att ett bedrägeri ska äga rum. Detta gäller oavsett om vi har ett regelbaserat system eller inte – och låt oss komma ihåg att de hade ett regelbaserat system i Förenta staterna ett tag, och det lyckades inte förhindra någon av skandalerna på den sidan om Atlanten, och naturligtvis kommer inte heller ett system som enbart baseras på principer att göra det. Inget revisionsförfarande i världen och ingen intern kontrollmekanism som införs kommer att kunna utgöra en hundraprocentig garanti för att bedrägerier eller ekonomisk brottslighet inte ska äga rum. Dock bör dessa system så snart det går göra det möjligt för oss att ta reda på exakt vad som händer. Det är mycket viktigt för näringslivet och för alla att människor har förtroende för revisionsbranschen, för revisorernas oberoende, för de normer de rättar sig efter och för branschens etiska regler. Jag är rädd att jag måste acceptera, som tidigare medlem i denna yrkeskår, att de senaste årens skandaler har undergrävt allmänhetens förtroende för revisions- och redovisningsbranschen. Jag tror inte att det behöver sägas att det är revisorernas uppgift att se till att förtroendet återställs och att de olika förändringar som har gjorts, både inom branschen och nu av de europeiska institutionerna, liksom förhoppningsvis vad medlemsstaterna kommer att göra, kommer att ge människor större anledning att tro att revisionsbranschens standarder är så höga som det går att göra dem. Som jag tidigare har sagt togs frågan om utskottsförfarandet upp på nytt liksom i den förra debatten, och låt mig upprepa att kommissionen godtar förslaget att avbryta det efter två år, med undantag av artikel 26, i just detta direktiv. Jag vill tacka ledamöterna för deras utförliga inlägg."@sv²¹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"(ΕΝ)"¹⁰ "Charlie McCreevy,"^{5,19,15,1,18,14,16,11,11,10,13,4} "Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants"¹⁷ "Member of the Commission"^{5,19,15,1,18,14,16,11,11,13,4} "μέλος της Επιτροπής"¹⁰