Status of the UK audit and corporate governance reform programme

In May 2022, the UK government published the response to its March 2021 consultation paper Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance (read more on our blog here). It confirmed that the government intends to take forward many of the reforms proposed in the consultation, though some in a modified form. A number of the reforms, including the creation of … Read more

Our briefing on the Regulations that will introduce significant new annual reporting requirements

The Department of Business and Trade (DBT) laid The Companies (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 in draft for approval by Parliament in July this year (see our blog post here). The Regulations, which will impact all UK-incorporated companies (and groups) that have both 750 or more employees and an annual turnover of £750 million or … Read more

Regulations laid to introduce significant new annual reporting requirements

The Department of Business and Trade has laid The Companies (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) in draft for approval by Parliament. The Regulations are part of a package of measures that see the Government and Financial Reporting Council (FRC) implementing the proposals from the Government’s March 2021 white paper on audit and … Read more

Our briefing on the FRC review of the UK Corporate Governance Code

As we have previously posted, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a consultation paper on changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code on 24 May 2023. We have now published a briefing in which we discuss the FRC’s proposed changes in more detail and look at their potential impact. The briefing is available here. The consultation … Read more

FRC review of UK Corporate Governance Code

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a consultation paper on changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code. The majority of the proposed changes implement reforms outlined by the government in May 2022 following its consultation on audit and governance reform. The changes proposed include: Internal controls – Rather than adopting a statutory reporting and assurance regime (similar to the … Read more

FRC publishes new Minimum Standard for FTSE 350 Audit Committees

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a Minimum Standard for the audit committees of FTSE 350 companies in relation to external audit.  This follows the consultation on the draft standard launched last November (see Corporate e-bulletin 2022/19 for more details).  The FRC has also published feedback on the consultation, containing a summary of the … Read more

FRC consultation on Audit Committee Standard

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a consultation on a draft minimum Standard for audit committees of FTSE 350 companies in relation to external audit. As part of the reform of audit and corporate governance in the UK, the government announced in May 2022 that it will give the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) – the new successor regulator … Read more

FRC position paper on audit and corporate governance reform

Following the publication in May this year of the government’s response to its consultation on audit and governance reform (see our blog post here for more details), the FRC has published a position paper setting out the steps it will take to implement the reforms outlined by the government. In particular, the FRC intends to publish a consultation paper … Read more

Government response on audit and corporate governance reform consultation

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published the response to its March 2021 consultation on audit and corporate governance reform, Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance (for further details, see our corporate update from March 2021). Most of the proposals contained in the consultation will be implemented, a number in modified … Read more