Germany to implement tough audit regulations after the Wirecard scandal

On Monday, Deutsche Bundesbank’s President Jens Weidmann said in a newspaper interview that Germany would toughen its auditing and accounting regulations to prevent another scam like the Wirecard scandal.

Wirecard AG (WDI), a financial services company, filed for insolvency on June after admitting that the 1.9 billion Euros that were supposedly held in trustee accounts by overseas partners probably did not exist.

“As we learn more about the issues leading to Wirecard’s collapse, there is little doubt that it will mean reputational damage, both to the audit firm concerned and to the audit profession more generally. It will add fuel to the debate taking place across a number of jurisdictions about the need for reform of the audit profession and strong action to support high audit quality,” Association of Chartered Certified Accountants’ Director Mike Suffield stated.