Audits are a crucial check on an organisation's performance, whether public or private. The importance of having robust audit practices and disciplines was thrust into the spotlight in 2018 following high-profile company collapses, such as the demise of construction firm Carillion.

Since this time there have been calls for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to separate audit from consulting services, and encourage a wider choice of auditors in the private sector.  Attention also now seems to be turning in some corners to audit arrangements in the public sector.