Shaping a future-proof corporate ecosystem

Event recap with recording

The first panel addressed why corporate reporting matters and how to improve its quality. The panellists noted that corporate reporting

• is the way companies tell their story; thus, they should own the process
• is not done only for external users, and
• offers benefits to the company itself once the right mindset and culture are established

Communication is key to improve reporting quality, and although all players in the ecosystem have a joint responsibility to ensure this, accountants and auditors will continue to play a key role.

As a preparer, I always tell my team to step into the shoes of the investor, the recipient of your data. What is the organisational narrative that you’re trying to tell? Is it understandable?

Gwen van Berne, Chair-Emeritus of IMA’s Global Board of Directors

The second panel explored why having a diverse and resilient public interest entity (PIE) audit market – with enough capable audit firms active in it – is important and how to achieve it. The discussion followed up on Accountancy Europe’s 2023 publication Dynamics influencing auditor choice in the public interest entity market.

The panellists discussed which factors have led to the market’s current structure, i.e. to the limited number of PIE audit firms & market concentration, and what the different stakeholders could do to improve the situation. Going forward, a well-functioning PIE audit market requires collective effort and dialogue. The relevant parties must have an open and bold mindset, strive for quality, and look for ways to remove regulatory and other hurdles for potential market entrants to provide them with fair opportunities to succeed.

The third session focused on collective learning and how it could contribute to greater resilience in the corporate sector. It started with a presentation on Accountancy Europe’s 2023 paper on a Corporate Resilience Network (CRN).

Due to technical issues, our event ended at this point. We thank the speakers for their engaging interventions and the participants for having joined us!

Watch the recording:

Scroll down to check the speakers’ list and event programme.

About the event

Join Accountancy Europe and the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations (ecoDa) for this in-person event.

We live in an era of economic, geopolitical, technological and climate disruptions. This poses many risks for the corporate ecosystem but also provides unique opportunities to reinvent it. Our event will look into key areas influencing the ecosystem’s resilience. With the main parties that play a role here – companies including their audit committees and shareholders, auditors, policymakers and supervisors – we will explore ways to collectively:

• enhance quality of corporate reporting
• meet the public interest entities’ (PIE) needs through a diverse and resilient audit (assurance) market
• strengthen companies’ resilience

Our networking cocktail starts after the event, from 16:50 to 17:50 CEST.

Speakers (scroll down for programme)

• Keynotes:
  • Peter Hinssen, author on radical innovation, long-term strategy, leadership in VUCA times and the impact of technology
  • Sven Gentner, Head of Unit, DG FISMA Unit C.1, European Commission
• Moderators:
  • Andrew Hobbs, Vice-Chair, Accountancy Europe’s Corporate Governance Policy Group (CGPG) and Partner, Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Public Policy Leader, EY
  • David Herbinet, Chair, Accountancy Europe Audit and Assurance Policy Group, and Global Head of Audit, Mazars
  • Jens Poll, Vice-President, Accountancy Europe
  • Olivier Boutellis-Taft, CEO, Accountancy Europe
• Sessions’ panellists:
  • Anneke Bovens, independent public policy advisor and investigator, former deputy director at the Dutch Safety Board
  • Dagmar Rehm, Non-executive Director and Audit Committee Chair, Association of Supervisory Boards in Germany, and ecoDa
  • Gwen van Berne, Chair-Emeritus of Global Board of Directors, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
  • Isabelle Grauer-Gaynor, Head of Unit, Corporate Finance and Reporting, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
  • Josina Kamerling, Head of Regulatory Outreach Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), CFA Institute
  • Laura Warren, Director of Competition Policy, Financial Reporting Council (FRC)
  • Marcel Welsink, Partner, Grant Thornton Netherlands
  • Michael Fechner, Financial Reporting Board Member, European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)
  • Michele Casò, Dottore Commercialista, Revisore Legale, Certified Fraud Examiner, Studio Casò
  • Dr Rainer Lenz, Chief Internal Auditor at SAF-HOLLAND Group, and lecturer on “Governance and Internal Auditing” at the Johannes-Gutenberg-University in Mainz
  • Tom Howie, Content and Communications Manager, WikiRate International