E&Y plans to appoint first non-executive directors

rnst&Young (E&Y) is to appoint four non-executive directors for the first time following the introduction of new regulations for auditing companies.

According to reports, the firm is the first of the four largest auditing businesses to follow the guidelines, which call for non-executive post holders to be included on boards.

The new directors, whose names have not yet been announced, will join the firm’s global advisory board at some stage after the summer of 2010.

In its current form, the board currently features 36 partners and operates in a similar way as one belonging to a public company.

However, this will be the first time an auditing business will have created a board structure resembling those belonging to the firms it audits, newspaper reports claimed.

Jim Turley, chairman and chief executive, told Accountancy Age: “Our intention is to have a non-executive director from the UK, from the US, Europe and one from Asia working together with our advisory council to strengthen governance but also advise the organisation.”

Meanwhile, the Financial Service Authority and Financial Reporting Council recently launched a discussion paper to debate how the work of auditing firms could be improved following the financial crisis.