Audit quality is a constant focus of the Belgian Audit Oversight Board (BAOB), this must never decline at the expense of users of financial information. All audit firms must ensure that they devote sufficient time and resources to their audits.
From dialogues that the BAOB conducted with the sector over the past few years, it appears that auditors find it highly problematic that some of their fellow auditors submit offers for public procurement quoting unreasonable fees, in an attempt to obtain the public contract by wrongful means. The fees quoted are considered unreasonable because they would make it impossible to ensure good audit quality while also complying with the applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Such offers are seen by the sector as a form of unfair competition.
These practices may compromise audit quality, to the detriment of the contracting authority and of the public, as well as of honest market players. They undermine confidence in the audit profession. Unfair practices of this nature may, moreover, infringe the ethical rules governing honesty and integrity.