Currently, there are two bills being discussed in the Czech Parliament. Under the first bill, which implements the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) in the Czech Republic, the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (Office) would be entitled to require providers of public communications network or a publicly available electronic communications service to provide operational and location data. This would be possible if such data could contribute to clarifying the facts relevant to the detection of any offence under Czech competition law, or the detection of a breach of Articles 101 or 102 of the TFEU, but only if the intended purpose cannot be achieved otherwise or solely with a disproportionate effort. Also, the prior written permission of the President of the High Court would be required.

The Czech Government introduced a new draft legislation transposing the EU Whistleblower Directive. The current proposal, which is the second draft, will probably be amended again during the legislative procedure. Legal professionals fear that the Czech Parliament will not be able to pass the bill within the transposition period as parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2021.

Mazars, the international audit, tax and advisory firm, today releases the results of its survey of 500 audit users and decision makers from 12 countries in ‘The future of audit: market view - myths, realities and ways forward’.

• Data from 12 countries increases understanding of today’s audit market and helps dispel four ‘myths’ relating to audit’s objectives, appetite for joint audit and the role of auditors and technology
• Vast majority (93%) of audit users think audit needs to be reformed and 87% are favourable to joint audit
• Companies overwhelmingly welcome auditors expanding assurance services beyond financial reporting (96%); value a human-centric approach supported by technology to reinforce audit quality; and view boosting objectivity, confidence, and performance as primary audit goals

In a year where business has had to transform the way it meets the needs of society and the environment, family owned businesses risk falling behind, according to a new global survey of 2,801 family business owners. 

While more than half (55%) of respondents saw the potential for their business to lead on sustainability, only 37% have a defined strategy in place. European and American businesses are lagging their Asian counterparts in their commitment to prioritising sustainability in their strategy. 79% of respondents in mainland China and 78% in Japan reported ‘putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do’ compared to 23% of US and 39% in the UK. Larger businesses and those owned by later generations also buck the trend, with greater focus on sustainability.