FRC Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Financial Reporting Council
In the latest ‘In Conversation’ podcast episode, Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, discusses the UK sustainability reporting landscape and the FRC’s respective roles with Kate O’Neill. Mark and Kate talk through the Government's recently issued UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and the FRC's ongoing work to support high-quality sustainability assurance engagements.
In the latest in-conversation podcast series, Kate O’Neill sits down with Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive, and Anthony Barrett, Executive Director of Supervision to discuss the FRC’s evolved approach to Audit Supervision. The new model sets out a more proportionate, effective and integrated framework aimed at strengthening audit quality and reinforcing resilience across the UK audit market. Implementation will begin in April 2026 for the largest firms.
In this podcast, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Andrew Meek, Director of Audit Firm Supervision, discuss the FRC's ongoing initiative to build capacity and capability for smaller firms operating in the Public Interest Entity audit market. The discussion focuses on the initial reception to the FRC’s initiative to support smaller firms, as well as how the FRC is delivering proportionate supervisory activity while supporting the public interest and maintaining accountability. In addition, the podcast sets out the FRC’s approach to strengthening firms’ systems of quality management, supporting audit quality and aligning with the FRC’s Future of Audit Supervision Strategy.
podcast episode on the FRC's Draft Plan and Budget for 2026/27, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Vinita Hill, Chief Operating Officer, and George Horgan, Head of Strategic Planning and Delivery. They discuss the priorities shaping the FRC’s work for the year ahead, the progress of its three year strategy for 2025-2028, and what stakeholders can expect from the consultation process.
For the latest episode of the Financial Reporting Council's 'In Conversation' podcast series, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Anthony Barrett, Executive Director of Supervision, and Jamie Symington, Deputy Executive Counsel, to discuss the progress of the FRC's consultation on proposed amendments to the Audit Enforcement Procedure, which launched in October 2025 as part of its end-to-end review of its enforcement processes, and what we’ve heard so far from stakeholders.
podcast episode, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs at the FRC, is joined by Lauren Tynen, Senior Corporate Governance Policy Associate, and Fiona Graham, COO of Family Business UK, to discuss the FRC’s latest Wates Principles reporting insights. They examine how the Principles support transparency, outcomes-based reporting, and active decision-making for private companies, and share practical guidance from the FRC’s 2025 review.
Insights, as they discuss some of the work the FRC has been doing this year to support growth through proportionate regulation, such as helping auditors tailor their approach to match the size and complexity of each client, because not all large companies are complex, and not all small ones are simple.
In the latest episode of the FRC’s In Conversation podcast series, host Kate O’Neill sits down with Jessica Dahlstrom, Head of Corporate Governance, and Kelvin Ernest, Senior Policy Associate in the Corporate Governance team, to unpack the recent update to the guidance for the Corporate Governance Code. Together, they explore how the code's principles offer companies greater flexibility in structuring remuneration for non-executive directors, and how the change supports good governance in the UK.
, and how its findings may help signatories to the UK Stewardship Code through the Code's transition year.
In this episode, Richard Moriarty, CEO, joins Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagementand Corporate Affairs, to discuss the FRC's proposals to update the Audit Enforcement Procedure as part of its End-to-end Enforcement Process Review. The proposals aim to expand the FRC's regulatory toolkit to deliver proportionate responses to different types of failings, and Richard and Kate discuss how the proposed expansion from two enforcement routes to five will enable this, before outlining the FRC's comprehensive plan to engage with a range of stakeholders across webinars and roundtables. The FRC is hosting a webinar on Wednesday 8 October to discuss the proposals in detail, with anopportunity for Q&A with the expert speakers: Elizabeth Barrett, Executive Director of Enforcement, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Anthony Barrett, Director of Audit Quality Review.
In this episode Kate O'Neill, our Director of Stakeholder of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs sits down with our CEO, Richard Moriarty and Director of Strategy and Change, Miranda Craig to discuss the launch of the FRC's new Innovation and Improvement Hub which aims to create an explorative space to work collaboratively with market participants on issues of common concern.
In this episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, speaks with Andrew Meek, Director of Audit Firm Supervision, about the FRC's new initiative to build capacity and resilience in the smaller audit firm market.They discuss how this collaborative approach will help smaller firms strengthen their quality management systems and explore the benefits for the wider UK audit market, including improved audit quality and greater choice for companies seeking audit services.
For this In Conversation podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, discusses the key changes in the recently revised UK Stewardship Code with Andrea Tweedie, Head of Stewardship.Kate and Andrea cover the fundamental updates to the Code, including the revised definition of stewardship, its new reporting structure and restructured principles which differentiate between asset managers, asset owners, and service providers. They discuss the 2026 transition year arrangements, explaining how the transition year will work for existing signatories. Kate and Andrea also speak about the application process, touching on the support available for new and existing signatories.
Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, sits down with Pauline Wallace, Chair of the UK Endorsement Board, as she prepares to step down on 10 September after 5 years leading the UKEB. Pauline has seen the UKEB grow from its conception to the influential organisation that we see today, and in this podcast she reflects on major achievements and why the UKEB is critical to the UK’s financial reporting environment.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, discusses the FRC's emerging findings of its market study examining how small and medium-sixed enterprises (SMEs) engage with the audit market alongside Laura Warren, Director of Market Intelligence and Insights, Dhruve Shah, Deputy Director of Professional Bodies Supervision, and Peter Kitson, Audit and Assurance Project Director. Kate, Laura, Dhruve and Peter speak about the importance of proportionality and scalability in audit standards, how the FRC has facilitated this by developing a practice note to help auditors apply ISAs more proportionately to smaller entities, and the various other proposed remedies emerging from the study's findings. Details of how to take part in the next steps of the FRC's year long campaign to support SME's access to audit can be found on the FRC's website, including an invite to join its upcoming roundtables beginning 9 September 2025.
In the final episode of the FRC's podcast series on the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Maureen Beresford, Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship, and Kelvin Ernest Senior Policy Associate in the Corporate Governance team, for a thought-provoking discussion on the importance of remuneration and the vital role of the remuneration committee. Together, they unpack the purpose and significance of Section 5 of the Code, and explore why it plays such a crucial role in today's evolving corporate landscape.
For the third episode of the FRC's podcast series exploring the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Maureen Beresford, Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship at the FRC, and Wendy Barnes, portfolio non-executive director and cyber resilience advisor.The conversation focuses on the growing importance of cyber risk in corporate governance, particularly in light of the revised Code coming into effect in 2026. They discuss how boards can approach cyber risk as a strategic issue rather than a purely technical one, the role of board-level oversight, and the importance of building organisational resilience. The episode also highlights practical tools and frameworks available to support boards in navigating this evolving area.
Join Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs and Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, as they discuss the FRC's latest phase of engagement on the Future of Audit Supervision Strategy (FASS). This episode explores how the FRC may evolve its supervisory approach to centre on firms' systems of quality management, moving towards a more proportionate and qualitative framework that supports audit quality across the entire market. Sarah shares insights from extensive stakeholder engagement and outlines key proposals including changes to inspection approaches and reporting methods. The consultation, running until 30 September, seeks views from all stakeholders with an interest in creating a supervisory environment that promotes a resilient audit market whilst reducing regulatory burden and supporting trust and confidence in UK businesses.
For the second episode of the FRC's podcast series exploring the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, sits down to discuss the principles-based nature of corporate governance and the importance of 'comply or explain' with Tedi Jorgi, Senior Corporate Governance Policy Associate, and Paul Lee, Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investment Strategy at Redington.The conversation explores why the UK's principles-based approach empowers boards rather than constrains them, addresses misconceptions around 'comply or else', and discusses how companies can embrace the flexibility the code offers whilst delivering meaningful reporting.
Following on from the FRC's recent podcast episode on exploring 'What is an Audit', Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined once again by Project Directors, Ramana McConnon and Peter Kitson, to delve into the key differences between audit and assurance. They also unpack the FRC's regulatory role in assurance, and the standards that govern it.
In this first instalment of the FRC's new podcast series on the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, explores how the revised Code encourages Boards to support consistent cultures in their companies with Lauren Tynen, Senior Corporate Governance Policy Associate, and Anneke Thordsen, Audit Market Supervision Project Director.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Tara Trousdale, Finance Director, Rob Amponsah, Senior Marketing and Digital Communications Manager, and Kristianne Russell, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, to discuss the FRC's Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25. They explore how the FRC successfully reduced the report's length by 30% over the last three years while transitioning to new reporting requirements, the collaborative approach to avoiding repetition and enhancing accessibility, and reporting with the same transparency and clarity expected from regulated organisations.
Richard Moriarty, CEO, joins Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, to discuss what the FRC has accomplished so far this year, take stock of the current political and economic environment, and give updates about the progress of some of its larger projects such as the Future of Audit Supervision Strategy, End to End Enforcement Review and SME audit market study.
In our latest In Conversation podcast, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Elizabeth Barrett, Executive Director of Enforcement & Executive Counsel, to discuss the latest Annual Enforcement Review, the ongoing End-to-End Enforcement review, and how this will shape the future of Enforcement at the FRC.
The Financial Reporting Council has revised Technical Actuarial Standard (TAS) 300 to bring greater clarity to practitioners and to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose. Join David Young, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Andrew Bennett, Senior Actuarial Project Director, and Mark Harris, Actuarial Project Director, as they discuss what revisions in TAS 300 v2.1 mean in practice.
In this podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision discuss the 2025 Annual Review of Audit Quality. The report explores the inspection and supervision results of audit firms across the UK Public Interest Entity (PIE) market while also highlighting the introduction of the audit firm metrics.
In this podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Project Directors, Ramana McConnon and Peter Kitson, discuss the crucial role audit plays in enhancing trust, confidence and transparency in financial statements.
In this FRC ‘In Conversation’ podcast episode, Adam Mohamed, Head of Communications, discusses the recently launched digital reporting ‘Viewer’, a new free tool designed to improve access to structured company reporting data, with Phil Fitz-Gerald, Director of Digital Reporting and Taxonomies, Jennifer Guest, Head of XBRL UK Taxonomy Development, and Carl Palfrey, Lead Business Analyst at the Companies House.Listen to hear how the Viewer unlocks vast repositories of digital data and enables investors, businesses and the public to easily access and analyse company information.
In this ‘In Conversation’ podcast, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Affairs, Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, and Elizabeth Barrett, Executive Counsel and Executive Director of Enforcement, discuss the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) end-to-end enforcement process review, as referenced in our 3-Year Strategy. They discuss the reasons for launching the review now, the key issues the review is considering, and the importance of this work to stakeholders - including plans for upcoming roundtables.
Join Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, and Dhruve Shah, Deputy Director of Professional Body Supervision, as they run through some of the early themes and feedback from the FRC's SME audit market study.
As part of the FRC's campaign to support SMEs to engage with and access audit, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, discuss the role of audit standards and how they can be applied in a proportionate and scalable way.
Join Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, as they discuss the launch of Future of Audit Supervision Strategy. Hear how this review will evolve our supervisory approach to consider the current and future challenges of the audit market while upholding high standards and supporting economic growth.
Join Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Jenny Carter, Director of Accounting and Reporting Policy, as they discuss the FRC's updated going concern guidance, refreshed for the first time since 2016. Hear how this guidance, which reflects updated reporting practices and changing standards, supports proportionate, company-specific disclosures.
Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Richard Moriarty, CEO, Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, and Miranda Craig, Director of Strategy and Change to discuss the launch of a year-long campaign to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access audit services and reduce reporting burdens where possible to support their growth ambitions.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Daniel Ellis, Senior Public Affairs Manager, is joined by Alison Stiles, Project Manager in the Professional Bodies Supervision team, to discuss the FRC’s work on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) and the recent Law and Practice Assessment regarding Switzerland. Discover how these MRAs support the international exchange of audit expertise and make it easier for skilled professionals to work across different countries.
In this focused In Conversation podcast episode, Adam Mohamed, Head of Communications at the FRC, discusses the new minimum standards for audit committees with Elizabeth Richards, a Project Director in the Audit Market Supervision team. They explore the evolving landscape of corporate governance, highlighting the FRC's approach to standardising audit committee practices for FTSE 350 and premium listed companies.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Adam Mohamed, Head of Communications, explores corporate culture with Rafal Budzinski, Senior Policy Associate, discussing how organisations can effectively embed and report on their cultural principles with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Ian Stephens, Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, sits down with Maureen Beresford, Acting Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship, to discuss the updates to the 2024 Corporate Governance Code outcomes-based reporting. Ian and Maureen discuss how companies can move beyond boilerplate statements to provide meaningful insights about the impact of their governance decisions, breaking down the practical implications of these changes and shares examples of effective reporting practices.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Emily Duncan, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, and Kelvin Ernest, Senior Policy Associate in the Corporate Governance team, explore the nuanced approach to board diversity and inclusion in the Financial Reporting Council's Corporate Governance Code 2024. Together, they unpack the FRC's strategic rationale for evolving diversity reporting, highlighting the importance of flexible frameworks that promote comprehensive boardroom perspectives and effective organisational governance.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Adam Mohamed, Head of Communications, interviews Jessica Dahlstrom, Head of Corporate Governance, exploring the nuanced "comply or explain" approach in the UK Corporate Governance Code. They discuss how companies can effectively demonstrate good governance through thoughtful explanations of code departures, emphasising flexibility and meaningful reporting.
In our latest In Conversation podcast, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, as well as Mike Newbury, Director of Local Audit Code and Guidance at the National Audit Office, and Iain Murray, Director of Public Financial Management at CIPFA, to discuss the measures introduced to address the backlog of local body audits and how they will impact the audit process and the type of opinion issued.
In this FRC In-Conversation, our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs Kate O'Neill, sits down with Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, Mark Babington and Head of Stewardship, Andrea Tweedie, to discuss the significant changes to the UK Stewardship Code that are being proposed and how they strike an important balancebetween supporting economic growth and investment, delivering increased transparency for millions of UK investors, savers and pensioners, while also reducing the reporting burden for signatories.
Richard Moriarty reflects on his first year leading the FRC in this In Conversation podcast episode, hosted by Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs. Richard and Kate discuss the FRC’s milestones from the past twelve months, the UK’s evolving landscape of corporate reporting and governance, and Richard's vision for the FRC's future strategy and regulatory approach.
In this latest 'In Conversation' podcast episode, Daniel Ellis, Senior Public Affairs Manager is joined by Ellen Millington, Senior Project Manager in the FRC's Local Audit team to discuss the recently launched Escalated Reporting Framework (ERF) and how it will support the FRC as local audit system leader, gathering early intelligence on local bodies and their auditors ahead of the government's local audit backstop dates.
In this latest episode, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs and Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, who also chairs the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants Sustainability Taskforce discuss why a positive ethical culture is the foundation for long-term corporate success and how the right behavioural framework can guide organisations toward optimal outcomes.
Listen to this 'In Conversation' podcast episode on the importance and implementation of operational separation in the Big Four audit firms, featuring Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, and Claire Lindridge, Director of Audit Market Supervision.
In this In Conversation podcast episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, sit down to explore the Financial Reporting Council's role as the system leader, the recent legislation introducing backstop dates for audited accounts, and the ongoing efforts to tackle the audit backlog while improving the long-term sustainability of the local audit system.
Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Geoff LeGouais, Corporate Reporting Review Case Director, discuss the key findings from a year of corporate reporting and the purpose of the review.
In our latest in-conversation, David Young, the FRC's Stakeholder Engagement Manager is joined by Vanessa Leung, Head of Actuarial Regulation, and Alice Piper, Senior Project Director in the FRC's Actuarial Regulation team, to discuss our recently published revisions to Technical Actuarial Standard (TAS) 200.
In our latest in-conversation podcast, Kate O’Neill, the FRC’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs is joined by Maureen Beresford, Acting Head of Corporate Governance and Stewardship, to discuss the changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code that are coming into effect at the beginning of 2025 and the impact on the corporate governance landscape.
Listen to the FRC’s latest In Conversation podcast episode featuring Sir James Wates CBE, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, and Maureen Beresford, Acting Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship. They explore today’s report and discuss the Wates Principles' flexibility, challenges in meaningful disclosure, and the importance of stakeholder engagement.
In our latest In Conversation podcast, Kate O'Neill, the FRC’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, discusses the consultation on Going Concern Guidance and why it is an important part of preparation for financial statements with Mark Babington, the FRC’s Executive Director of Regulatory Standards.
Join Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, as she sits down with Sarah Rapson, Executive Director of Supervision, to discuss the latest results from the annual Tier 1 audit firm inspections.
In this episode, Elizabeth Barrett, Executive Director of the FRC's Enforcement Division joins Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs to discuss the key findings from the FRC's latest Annual Enforcement Review with a focus on our approach to proportionality, timeliness in investigations, and the impact of enforcement activities on UK growth and corporate confidence.
In this episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs and Richard Moriarty, the FRC's Chief Executive Officer discuss the latest developments in the ongoing UK Stewardship Code review. They discuss the reasons behind the review, its importance for individual investors and the UK economy, and the key themes emerging from stakeholder engagement.
In this episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Laura Warren, incoming Director of the Market Intelligence & Insights function and Philip Fitz-Gerald, incoming Director of the Digital Reporting & Taxonomies sit down to discuss the reason for the new functions, what work they'll undertake and how the functions will benefit both the FRC and the market.
In our latest In Conversation podcast, Kate O’Neill, the FRC’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, speaks to Jenny Carter, the FRC’s Director of Accounting and Reporting Policy on the key changes to FRS 102 and tips for those applying the revised standard.
The government has committed to bringing forward legislation following itsreview of non-financial reporting requirements for UK companies, which aims to simplify the reporting framework as part of its Smarter Regulation agenda. The FRC has been closely involved in this review and in this In-conversation, Kate O'Neill sits down with our Director of Accounting and Reporting Policy, Jenny Carter and Elisa Noble, a Senior Project Director in the Accounting and Reporting Policy team to discuss the announcement and what it means for companies' reporting.
FRC Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O’Neill sits down with the Director of Competition Policy at the FRC, Laura Warren, to discuss the launch of the Market Study on UK sustainability assurance market.
On behalf of the Pre-Emption GroupFollowing the publication of the Pre-Emption Groups’ first report, Stephanie Blenko, senior policy associate in the Stewardship team at the FRC sits down with Sir Keith Skeoch, Chair of the Pre-Emption Group to discuss the first report monitoring the use of the 2022 statement of principles on the disapplication of pre-emption rights for UK listed companies.
As we begin the review of the UK Stewardship Code Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs sits down with Richard Moriarty, CEO for the latest FRC In Conversation episode. Kate and Richard discuss the key areas the review will focus on and the importance of working with other regulators throughout the review.
FRC Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs Kate O’Neill sits down with the Acting Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship at the FRC, Maureen Beresford, a month after the publication of the UK Corporate Governance code to discuss the key revisions including its focus on internal controls, and the response to it so far.
In this In-Conversation, FRC Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs Kate O’Neill sits down with Executive Director of Supervision, Sarah Rapson to discuss the backlog in local audit and its impact on the public. Kate and Sarah look at the role the FRC plays in local audit and how it is supporting the Department of Levelling-up, Housing and Communities on the recently launched consultation on proposals to reset the system.
In this In-Conversation, the FRC's new CEO, Richard Moriarty, reflects on his first three months leading the organisations, talks about his view on what makes an effective regulator and discusses his priorities for the year ahead.
Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate affairs, Dawn Dickson, Director of Professional Bodies Supervision and Dhruve Shah, Deputy Director of Professional Bodies Supervision discuss the benefits of the FRC’s new supervisory approach of the professional bodies.
FRC Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs Kate O’Neill sits down with Head of Corporate Governance Maureen Beresford to discuss the findings from the latest review of corporate governance reporting, including the improvements the FRC is seeing in reporting and where there is still work to be done.
In our latest in-conversation, Philip Fitzgerald, Director of the FRC Lab and Michelle Cardwell, a project Manager in the FRC Lab to talk about their recently published report looking at materiality in company reporting. They discuss how materiality can be used as a lens to communicate how companies can communicate what really matters to their business and their stakeholders.
Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O’Neill, sits down with FRC Chair, Sir Jan du Plessis to find out the qualities he’s looking for in three new Non-Executive Directors the FRC is recruiting to the board at this exciting time for the organisation.
As our four-month consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code comes to an end, Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Maureen Beresford, Head of Corporate Governance, for the latest FRC In Conversation episode. While recapping which parts of the code were consulted, Kate and Maureen share their reaction to the level of engagement seen across the consultation period, discuss the wide spectrum of helpful views, and explore what’s next.
The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) Chair, Pauline Wallace, was recently a guest on an FRC ‘In Conversation’ podcast. As the UKEB enters its third year of operation, listen to the Chair discussing UKEB’s priorities for the year ahead, the IFRS standards being considered by the Board, and UKEB’s approach to stakeholder engagement and the various ways in which stakeholders can share their views.
Learn about the key findings of this year’s Annual Enforcement Review in the latest In Conversation episode with Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs and Elizabeth Barrett, Executive Counsel and Executive Director of Enforcement. Kate and Elizabeth discuss the work behind this year’s record number of cases closed and impressive developments in timeliness, and explain how this report reflects the FRC’s commitment to being an improvement regulator.
In this latest In Conversation episode, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs speaks to Maureen Beresford, Head of Corporate Governance, about the significant interest from stakeholders in the FRC’s ongoing UK Corporate Governance Code consultation and the high-level of engagement so far. Kate and Maureen dive into popular topics such as internal controls, over-boarding, reporting on outcomes, and sustainability reporting.
In this In Conversation, Adam Mohamed, Senior Communications Manager, talks to Marie Claire Tabone and Ruth Nash from the FRC Lab about the findings of the ‘ESG Data Distribution and Consumption’ report, including what actions companies can take to facilitate ESG data flows
In this "in conversation", our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O'Neill, speaks with Sarah Rapson the FRC's Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Supervision about the latest Tier 1 audit quality inspections and the picture they paint about audit quality at the UK's largest firms.
In this #podcast, @Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, @Kate O’Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, @Sarah-Jayne Dominic, Head of Policy Programmes and Strategy, and @Daniel Makevic, Policy Lead on IFRS Sustainability Standards, discuss the crucial role that the TAC will have in the development of #sustainability disclosures in the UK, and internationally
In our latest in conversation, Senior COmmunications Manager, Adam Mohamed sits down with Anna Krasnodemska, a case officer in the FRC's Corporate Reporting Review team to talk about a recent thematic her team has published, reviewing IFRS13 fair value measurements.
In our latest in-conversation, our Director of Regulatory Standards, Mark Babington sits down with our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O'Neill, to discuss the FRC recent research on the impact of proxy advisors and ESG rating agencies on companies actions and investor voting decisions.
The FRC has announced the restructure of the Professional Oversight Team to the Professional Bodies Supervision, building on the existing successful FRC supervision model for audit firms.In this podcast, Kate O’Neill and Dawn Dickson discuss the structure of the team and how the changes will deepen and strengthen our supervision of the Professional Bodies.
The Non-Financial Reporting Review, which will look at the framework behind Non-Financial reporting, and the wider legal landscape in which sustainability disclosures and other planned reforms will be situated.
In this podcast, Kate O’Neill, Jenny Carter, and Elisa Noble discuss the role that the FRC will have in supporting the Government’s proposals, and how Non-Financial reporting encourages a transition to a more sustainable economy.
FRC Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Supervision, Sarah Rapson, discusses how we approach audit supervision, our role as an improvement regulator and our new Scalebox initiative which aims to support smaller firms stepping into the PIE market.
In our latest In Conversation we speak with Andrew Bennett, Senior Project Director in the FRC's Actuarial Policy Team, about the recently published consultation on revisions to Technical Actuarial Standard (TAS) 300 and the introduction of TAS 310.
Our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O’Neill, and our Director Actuarial Policy, Vanessa Leung, delve into the FRC’s actuarial remit, what might change when we become ARGA, and the recently revised TAS 100 standard in our latest podcast.
Our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O'Neill, speaks with Jason Bradley and Christian Paterson from the FRC's new Digital and Technology Group about why the group has been set up, what the FRC prioritise are in this space and what to look out for in the future.
Kate O'Neill sits down with our Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Supervision, Sarah Rapson and our Director of Local Audit, Neil Harris to discuss the challenges in local audit and the FRC's new role as Shadow Systems Leader.
Following our latest update to the list of signatories to the UK Stewardship Code, Kate O’Neill sat down with our Acting Head of Stewardship Andrea Tweedie to discuss what the Code is all about, how we support organisations to become signatories and how the Code is supporting better stewardship across the UK and globally.
Listen to our first in conversation podcast of 2023 where Kate O’Neill speaks with our Direct of Audit and Assurance Policy, James Ferris, about the FRC’s new Sandbox initiative. The first of its kind in the audit and assurance space.
Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O'Neill, sits down to talk about our latest consultation on FRS 102 with our Director of Accounting and Reporting Policy, Jenny Carter and Senior Project Director, Stephen Maloney.
The last episode in this culture and diversity series focusses on why companies should be concerned about mental health of their workers – another key Social consideration, this time from the perspective of an investor. Tracey Groves, the series host, talks to Amy Brown, Stewardship Lead at the CCLA’s Sustainability team, about their Global Mental Health Benchmark and the investor coalition statement on workplace mental health, why poor mental health is a business risk, and what are the practical things that directors can do to improve their engagement with investors in this area
FRC Director of Stakeholder Relations and Corporate Affairs, Kate O'Neill speaks with our Head of COmpetition Policy on our recently published Competition Policy Paper that sets out how we are seeking to progress the Government's seven competition policy proposals, and how we propose to deliver on the operational objective for ARGA to promote effective competition in the market for statutory audit.
In this second episode, the series host - Tracey Groves, discuses with Kirsty Rogers, the Global Head of ESG, Office Managing Partner and employment practitioner at DWS, what neurodiversity means and why should businesses pay greater attention to it. They also consider how organisations can engage, embrace and retain their neurodiverse workers and what practical steps they can take to fully leverage the neurodiverse talent.”
In this episode, Andrea Tweedie, Senior Manager of Stewardship at the FRC, tells us about the encouraging findings of the 2022 Review of Stewardship Reporting that shows continued improvements.
FRC Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Public Affairs, Kate O'Neill talks with Phil Fitz-Gerald, Director of the FRC Lab, about the recently published Public Interest Principles that to help assess whether the public interest is best served by carrying out regulatory, supervisory and enforcement work that is outside of our primary regulatory perimeter.
In this podcast Laura Warren, Director of Competition Policy, and Susan Currie, Chief of Staff in Regulatory Standards, explore the background and detail of the FRC's new consultation on it's draft standard on audit committees.
We sat down with David Styles, Director of Corporate Governance & Stewardship, and Maureen Beresford, Head of Corporate Governance, to discuss the findings from this year's Review of Corporate Governance Reporting. David and Maureen touch on why the UK Corporate Governance Code is so important, where companies are reporting well and how they can improve.
Earlier this year the UKEB celebrated its first birthday. Kate O’Neill sat down with Pauline Wallace to discuss some of the challenges and achievements of the first year of the UKEB as well as outlining future plans.
In this first episode of the second edition of the Creating Positive Culture podcast series, Tracey Groves, the FRC’s Advisor, CEO of Intelligent Ethics and Partner at StoneTurn talks to Sara Weller CBE, NED of BT Group, Virgin Money and The Money & Pensions Service about the importance of elevating disability on to the board agenda so it becomes more of a business priority. They also discuss the challenges and enablers to embracing disability as a cultural force for good, and practical steps companies can take.
Kate O'Neill sits down Phil Fitzgerald, Director of the FRC Lab, to discuss the Lab's latest report on disclosing net zero commitments. They delve into practical tips and questions to consider when communicating what their net zero commitment includes.
In this episode Kate O'Neill speaks to James Holland (Senior Policy Advisor at the Department for Work and Pensions) and Andrew Bennett (FRC Senior Project Director for Actuarial Policy) on the new pensions dashboard and changes to AS TM1 to support reliable and consistent pension projections.
This episode concludes the series of podcasts that explored both the Government Response and FRC's Position Paper. In this episode, Sir Jon Thompson (FRC's CEO) and Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) discuss the value and importance of the profession and what these proposed professions mean for the future of the audit profession.
FRC Communications Director, Kate O'Neill sits down with Financial Reporting Lab Director Phil Fitz-Gerald to discuss the Lab's recent report on improving ESG data production - looking at the motivations and methods for collecting high quality data and ultimately how to use it.
This podcast forms part of a series of podcasts over the next month following on from the Government Response and FRC Position Paper. In this episode, Rachel Atkinson (Head of Stakeholder Engagement & Public Affairs) speaks with Laura Warren (Director of competition policy) about how the reforms will impact competition in the audit market following the publication of the Governments response to the white paper in May 2022.
In this episode Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) and Mark Babington (Executing Director of Regulatory Standards) discuss the International Sustainability Standards Board's recently published consultation, the importance of it and where the FRC fits in.
This podcast forms part of a series of podcasts over the next month following on from the Government Response and FRC Position Paper. In this episode, Miranda Craig (Director of Strategy & Change) speaks with Sarah Rapson (Executive Director of Supervision)about the changes for the Supervision division following the publication of the Governments response to the white paper in May 2022.
This podcast forms part of a series of podcasts over the next month following on from the Government Response and FRC Position Paper. In this episode, Rachel Atkinson (Head of Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement) speaks with David Styles (Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship) and Maureen Beresford (Head of Corporate Governance) on why the position paper is important for Corporate Governance & Stewardship and the most important changes that are to come.
The Financial Reporting Council has recently published new guidance for listed companies to enhance effective shareholder participation when planning and conducting AGMs. We sat down with Head of Corporate Governance, Maureen Beresford and Senior Policy Advisor, Kelvin Ernest to talk about how and why this first of its kind guidance has been produced.
This podcast forms part of a series of podcasts over the next month following on from the Government Response and FRC Position Paper. In this episode, Miranda Craig (Director of Strategy & Change) speaks with Jenny Carter (Director of Accounting and Reporting Policy) on why the position paper is important for Corporate Reporting and the most important changes that are to come.
In this episode Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) and Claire Lindridge (Director of Audit Market Supervision) discuss the recently launched consultation for the Audit Quality Indicators.
AQIs are quantitative and qualitative measures of external audit quality, including both inputs and outputs. They indicate the firm’s historical, present or future ability to perform quality audits, as well as providing insights into audit quality when read with other AQIs and relevant context.
In this episode, Rachel Atkinson (Head of Public Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement) speaks with James Ferris (Director of UK Auditing and Assurance Standards)on the importance of the position paper for Audit Policy and Standards along with the important changes that are to come for ethical standards.
The FRC has published a report looking at TCFD disclosures from premium listed companies. Our Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, Kate O’Neill, sat down with Harriett Mossop, Case Director and Janet Lucke, Senior Case Officer from the FRC’s Supervision division to talk about the TCFD reporting requirements for companies, the positive steps being taken and where there are areas for improvement.
FRC has published its fourth Annual Enforcement review revealing a record number of cases were resolved in the last year and resulted in record financial sanctions of £46.5 million. Listen to Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) speak to Elizabeth Barrett (Executive Director of Enforcement and Executive Council member) about this years review.
In this episode Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate affairs) speaks to Sarah Rapson (Executive Director of Supervision)about the FRC's recently published annual inspection and supervision results of the largest audit firms (BDO, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG, Mazars and PwC). Overall, 75% of audits inspected were good or required limited improvement (compared to 71% in 2021 and 67% in 2020).
The number of audits considered good or requiring limited improvement has improved on the previous two years. It is clear that a combination of the FRC’s increasingly assertive supervision approach, as well as investment from the firms in their systems, people and capabilities to improve audit quality, is starting to have a positive impact.
Encouragingly, five of the largest firms had no audits requiring significant improvements. KPMG’s individual audit inspections have significantly improved, which is promising, but is not yet a trend. The FRC will continue to closely monitor KPMG banking audits.*
The inspection results at Mazars and BDO remain unacceptable. Four of the eight audits reviewed at Mazars, and five of the 12 audits reviewed at BDO required more than limited improvements. Specific supervisory plans have been developed to closely monitor BDO and Mazars’ priority actions. The FRC will continue to ensure the challenger firms are prioritising high quality audit with a view to offering increased choice and resilience in the market, but growth ambitions must also be tempered by a focus on quality first and foremost.
In the this podcast we hear from FRC Head of Stewardship, Claudia Chapman, CEO and Founder of Minerva Analytics, Sarah Wilson and Dr Anna Tilba, Associate Professor in Strategy and Governance Durham University Business School about their recent research looking into the influence the revised UK Stewardship Code has had on the practice and reporting of asset managers and owners.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today published a Position Paper setting out the next steps to reform the UK’s audit and corporate governance framework.
The paper follows the Government Response to the consultation on strengthening the UK’s Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting and Audit systems, including the creation of the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), to replace the FRC.
The document published today builds on the areas of the Government Response that fall within the FRC’s remit, providing advanced clarity for stakeholders on how the work of reform will be delivered ahead of government legislation.
That work includes revising existing codes, strengthening auditing and accounting standards, setting expectations to drive behavioural change ahead of statutory powers, and the development of guidance to address issues set out in the Government Response.
In particular, the Position Paper sets out proposed changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code. This will provide a stronger framework for reporting on the effectiveness of internal controls and Board responsibilities for expanded sustainability and ESG reporting, and new guidance on enhanced resilience statements and fraud reporting by directors.
We are very proud to be introducing our Supporting Transgender and Intersex Employees policy.
The policy sets out the FRC’s approach towards supporting employees who are transgender, intersex and non-binary and for those employees who are proposing to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment both during recruitment and while working at the FRC.
We believe that diversity and inclusion bring benefits to the business and that people work better when they can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging to the organisation they work for.
In this episode, Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) Speaks to Chris Nelson (Forensic Accountant), and Anthony Shivbarat (Lead D&I and Talent Development)at the FRC about why this policy is so important.
We are committed to welcoming and supporting transgender employees and removing barriers to their recruitment, promotion, and retention. Providing a working environment that is free from discrimination, harassment, or victimisation because of sex and/ or gender is an important step in ensuring transgender employees are respected and valued.
In this episode, Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Affairs at the FRC) speaks to Vanessa Leung (Director of Actuarial Policy at the FRC)on the proposals in Chapter 11.2 of the Government's Response to the consultation on its White Paper ‘Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance’ the next steps to reform the UK’s actuarial regulatory regime is set out.
In this last podcast of the series Rafal Budzinski, Senior Policy Associate at the FRC and Tracey Groves, the FRC’s Advisor, CEO of Intelligent Ethics and a Partner at StoneTurn discuss why companies should be paying attention to Corporate Purpose and ESG – both inherently related to Culture, reporting in this area and the use of external advisors, as well as exploring what companies could improve.
In this episode Kate O’Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) sits down with Sir Jon Thompson, the FRC’s CEO to discuss the government’s response to the consultation on Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance, a consultation focused on strengthening the UK’s audit, corporate reporting and corporate governance systems. Sir Jon shares his thoughts and opinions with us while going into detail about some of the points made within the response.
Internal Audit function can play a key role in culture assurance. This requires going beyond the traditional approach due to intangible nature of corporate culture. In this podcast Maureen Beresford, Head of Corporate Governance and the FRC and Anthony Kennedy, Director of Internal Audit at Lloyds Banking Group discuss how can companies go about it, the challenges to joining up dots on culture across the organisation and best practice to reporting in this area.
This is the first podcast in a Corporate Governance three-piece series. In this episode David Styles (Director of Corporate Governance & Stewardship) speaks to Vanda Murray OBE, and they look at the board's role in promoting corporate culture and how directors can get more involved in culture assessment and monitoring.
In this Episode David Styles (Director of Corporate Governance & Stewardship) speaks to Dame Sara Thornton, DBE, QPM, the current UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner on the findings of the Modern Slavery Reporting Practices in the UK report that was published on Monday 25th April in collaboration with the UK Anti-Slavery Commission and Lancaster University.
In this Episode, Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs) speaks to Claire Lindridge (Director of Audit Market Supervision) on the newly revised Audit Firm Corporate Governance Code and how it had been adapted to be more appropriate for the current climate.
What do investors want to understand about risks, uncertainties, opportunities and scenarios? by Financial Reporting Council
In this episode Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Affairs) speaks to David Styles (Director of Corporate Governance & Stewardship) and Claudia Chapman (Head of Stewardship) to mark the publication of the first signatories to the Stewardship Code 2020. Listen to learn about the principles of the Stewardship code and what it takes to become a signatory to the code.
In this podcast from the FRC Kate O'Neill (Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Affairs) speaks to Anna Colban (Head of Due Process Oversight) and Susan Currie (Chief of Staff, Regulatory Standards) about proposals to revise and strengthen the UK's Audit Firm Governance Code and how stakeholders can have their say.