12 October 2016

FRC: Speech by Sir Win Bischoff on Brexit

Sir Win Bishoff said : "The decision of the British people in June for the UK to leave the EU was to many of us, though obviously not all, a shock, in some ways dwarfing stock market crashes and Big Bang. While its full effect has yet to be felt, what deals look most likely and how the politics of the situation play out, will cause markets and sectors to react in differing ways.

The Financial Reporting Council is the UK’s competent regulatory authority for audit, and its standard setter. We also regulate accountants and actuaries. And we maintain the UK’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes.

For us it is vital that the UK remains a global centre of excellence for accountancy, audit and actuarial work, with standards of practice and behaviour that are second to none. We must also retain the talent we have in these professions. For the benefit of the economy we need to be recognised as a global leader in their regulation and for the high standards of governance observed by our listed companies. In short the attraction of the UK as a destination and home for investors must be maintained.

The Prime Minister has a vision of an economy that works for everyone. That needs UK businesses to thrive if all stakeholder including workers, customers, suppliers and society itself are to benefit through jobs growth and prosperity. That in turn requires a continued strong flow of investment, much of it from abroad, into UK companies.

The justifiable reputation across the globe for the trustworthiness of corporate reports and for audit quality in the UK are factors significant to investors.”

Sir Win Bishoff concluded: “The goal for the FRC is that the UK remains a global centre of excellence for accounting and audit, and a magnet for global investors’ capital. In this there are a number of factors that play in our favour:

• The International Accounting Standards Board, which sets the standards used by the majority of companies across the globe, is based here in London.
• The FRC is admired internationally for its high standards of regulation.
• We have developed over the last 25 years strong corporate governance principles.
• The professional bodies that we oversee have significant global reach and an excellent ‘product’.

It is right, even for us as regulator, to point out that the profession in the UK is strong. It is entirely appropriate therefore to promote continuing access to it for the benefit of UK Plc.
Services, we need to remind ourselves, is not just financial services, but also professional and personal services of all kinds, and they together play the most important role in the prosperity of this country.“

Full speech

© FRC