Public consultation on the operations of the European Supervisory Authorities

On 21 March 2017 the European Commission has launched a public consultation on the operation of the three European Supervisory Authorities EBA, EIOPA and ESMA (ESAs). The consultation document describes tasks and functions of these authorities and contains proposals to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. Two of the 32 questions in the document (questions 14 and 15) explicitly address the area of financial reporting.

The section on financial reporting first describes ESMA’s role as an enforcer of accounting and auditing standards and outlines the efforts that have been undertaken to harmonise accounting and auditing practices in the EU. It then notes several possibilities for strengthening ESMA’s position in this respect as supervisory and enforcement convergence has remained somewhat limited to date. The consultation suggests that the review of the ESAs’ operation might also be used to “streamline” the endorsement process in the EU by giving ESMA an “advisory role”.

The consultation is open for comment until 16 May 2017. Comments are only welcome via a specific online questionnaire.