The Investment Management Association, which represents UK-based fund managers with £4 trillion under management, has complained that auditors' judgements on companies are too "opaque", consist of "boilerplate, technical language" and give a simple pass or fail verdict, rather than a balanced verdict.

Liz Murrall, the IMA's director of corporate governance and reporting, said in a statement: "Currently investors are concerned about the quality of audits and feel excluded from the process and real findings, such as the evaluation of risk and controls.