The chief executive of the financial services regulator warned yesterday that continuing to tighten the laws surrounding auditing and accounting practices ran the risk of placing an unfair regulatory burden on the profession.

Mr Liam O'Reilly, chief executive of the Irish Financial Services' Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), told the Finance Dublin conference yesterday that reform of the laws governing auditing and accounting were justified in the light of the revelations of corporate fraud of the past three years. However, he warned there was a danger of placing an unnecessary burden on the industry, and said that, at this stage, legislators needed to "sit back".

Mr O'Reilly added that the people chosen for companies' management and boards should be competent and have integrity.

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, told the same conference it was vital that the 25 different EU states adopted common accounting and financial reporting standards from the May 1st enlargement date: "Legislation has already been adopted at EU level to provide that, from 2005, the consolidated accounts of all listed companies must be based on international accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board \."

He added that this would mean a common set of accounting rules across all EU states, at least for listed companies. Mr McCreevy also said the EU's council of finance ministers (Ecofin) would begin the process of developing initiatives for the integration of financial services across the EU when they hold their informal meeting at Punchestown Racecourse, Co Kildare, at the weekend. He said the Commission was consulting with various interests and would hold further consultations following a conference scheduled for next June.