But the survey also revealed that significantly more countries had adopted International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) than was the case when the question was last asked in 2013.

Reforms passed last year empower the European Commission to mandate the use of ISAs for all statutory audits in the EU. However, a timetable for adoption of ISAs by the commission has not yet been set.

FEE said that, although the majority of member states had adopted the standards, either without modification or with a few national additions, formal adoption of ISAs by the European Commission was still desirable.

This was because France, Germany and Portugal were waiting for EC adoption before adopting ISAs themselves. And without a formal adoption mechanism, new and revised ISAs may be adopted by member states at different times, disrupting efforts at EU-wide co-operation and harmonisation, FEE said.