I have to take exception to this as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is also a regulator. If a member firm wants to quit a market it is not the ICAEW’s job to defend that firm’s commercial interests. Its job is to act in the public interest. And if there is no market-based solution to auditing in the future, so be it. The ICAEW should recognise that and not seek to support the unsustainable retention of a private monopoly that has not met the public interest test, but has secured significant wealth for a few.
Competition quitting a market proves it’s a monopoly already.
There’s the answer to Ritchie’s employment problem…
Go out and start yourself your own Big Four firm to replace the Big Four firm that’s considering leaving.
Should be a snap, what with his skills and all…