Brussels, 25/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 25 April, the Council formally adopted a directive updating and introducing additional EU rules on the auditing of company accounts (Directives 78/660/EEC and 84/253/EEC). The new rules extend the scope of application of Directive 84/253/EEC by specifying the duties of statutory auditors, their independence and ethics, introducing requirements for external quality assurance to ensure better public oversight over the auditing profession. The Council...