FRC plan for greater regulatory oversight

05 February 2020

The FRC has announced a major shakeup of its oversight and supervisory functions to speed up the pace of Enforcement investigations. The regulator is also broadening its stated purpose which is to serve the public interest by setting high standards of corporate governance and by holding to account those responsible for meeting them.

The strategy for 2020/21 will see the FRC make further progress in its transition to a new regulatory body proposed by last year’s independent review of the FRC.
 
To meet the requirements of the independent review, the FRC will recruit over 100 additional employees and streamline its decision-making processes. This will result in an increase in levies from £41.7m to £47.2m. Details are set out in the FRC draft plan and budget.
 
The consultation on the plan and budget will run until 28 February 2020.
 
Ahead of wider legislative reform, the FRC plans to speed up the investigation and conclusion of Enforcement cases by increasing the number of lawyers and forensic accountants and strengthening its case examination function to fast-track decisions on whether to open an Enforcement case.
 
To improve coverage, the number of Audit Quality and Corporate Reporting Reviews is set to increase by 25%, while Audit Firm monitoring will be further expanded from the Big 4 to challenger firms.
 
Oversight of Recognised Supervisory Bodies for Audit will also be increased, and initial steps taken on auditor registration governance again as recommended in the independent review.

Full press release on FRC

FRC draft plan and budget

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