Big Four partners constitute a large segment of the newly approved composition of the European Financial Advisory Group (EFRAG) groupings on insurance accounting and financial instruments.
Among the auditors appointed to the Insurance Accounting Working Group, five out of six are partners at a Big Four firm, including its chairman Ambrogio Virgilio, who is an assurance partner at EY Italy and an EFRAG’s Technical Expert Group (TEG) member.
The other four members are: Joachim Kölschbach (KPMG Germany); Jasper Kolsters (EY Netherlands); Thomas Ringsted (Deloitte Denmark); and Gail Tucker (PwC UK).
The only exception is Sébastien Arnault, who is an audit associate at Mazars.
The Big Four footprint is more palpable at EFRAG’s Financial Instruments Working Group. Six out of eight auditors come from Big Four firms, including the chairman of the group, Andrew Spooner (Deloitte UK partner).
The other five are: Jens Berger (Deloitte Germany partner); Riccardo Bua Odetti (PwC Italy partner); Laure Guegan (EY France partner); Colin Martin (KPMG UK partner); and Raoul Vogel (PwC Germany director).
Only two appointments at this group come from mid-tier accountancy firms: Alan Chapman (Grant Thornton UK associate director) and Vincent Guillard (Mazars partner).
All appointments, approved in a July meeting held by the EFRAG TEG, will be effective from 1 September 2016.
