{"id":20113,"date":"2025-10-16T11:11:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/?p=20113"},"modified":"2025-10-16T10:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:11:49","slug":"how-might-a-public-consultation-lead-to-changes-in-auditing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/how-might-a-public-consultation-lead-to-changes-in-auditing\/","title":{"rendered":"How might a public consultation lead to changes in auditing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Emma Wilson, Partner <\/em><\/p>\n<p>There has been ongoing discussion about the need for audit reform for many years, ever since the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) was announced in 2019.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>While that particular reform looks unlikely to manifest anytime soon, there is a public consultation currently underway to determine the future practices of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).<\/p>\n<p>Any business that currently gets audited or is likely to need one in the future should understand how things are likely to change in the wake of the consultation.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What changes might happen with the FRC?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The public consultation is focused on perceived inefficiencies with the way that the FRC manages audit resolutions.<\/p>\n<p>At present, there exists a binary option for handling issues discovered during an audit.<\/p>\n<p>The FRC can privately engage with the business to address the concerns or engage in a more public investigation to tackle deeper issues.<\/p>\n<p>There are times when businesses feel like those investigations are too long and take up valuable resources that could be better served elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>The FRC has acknowledged these concerns and is seeking to introduce a three-pronged approach to tackling deeper investigations.<\/p>\n<p>The potential routes will be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A published constructive-engagement option to share learning more widely<\/li>\n<li>An accelerated procedure for clear-cut cases or admissions of failure<\/li>\n<li>An early-admissions route where firms accept responsibility under FRC oversight in return for a quicker resolution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The aim is swifter, more proportionate action that reserves full investigations for the most serious public-interest cases.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How might the changes to audits impact businesses?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For any businesses that have been the recipient of a lengthy audit resolution, the proposed changes may be a welcome indication of the future.<\/p>\n<p>Many business owners have a perception that audits are inefficient to the point where they often miss the benefits of having an audit due to a fear of time-consuming investigations.<\/p>\n<p>If the changes to the FRC are introduced, it could help business owners feel more confident when approaching audits.<\/p>\n<p>We know that audits are an essential part of business management and growth, far beyond the compliance measure that compels businesses to be audited.<\/p>\n<p>The changes also aim to implement more transparency and a greater range of educational opportunities that could drive further improvement of auditing standards and operational practices for businesses.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How can you influence the outcome of the consultation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The FRC has invited views and set a deadline for responses.<\/p>\n<p>If you have experience of drawn-out investigations, unclear expectations or inconsistent enforcement, this is a moment to be heard.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to the consultation helps shape a framework that will affect your auditors, your audit costs and how quickly issues are resolved.<\/p>\n<p>The consultation is open until 9 January 2026 and the proposed changes are scheduled to be implemented from 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frc.org.uk\/consultations\/audit-enforcement-procedure-consultation-on-proposed-updates-to-the-frcs-routes-to-resolution\/\">Be sure to respond to the consultation before the deadline to have your say<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, knowing that reform is on the horizon means that this is the time to assess your current operational practices.<\/p>\n<p>If you find audits inefficient and time-consuming, consider improving your own record-keeping to ensure that an auditor can retrieve all the information they require.<\/p>\n<p>While some delays are beyond your control, many auditors do express frustration at not being able to get the documents they need in a timely fashion, so it is worth understanding how to effectively prepare for an audit.<\/p>\n<p>Consider making a note of everything that was required in your most recent audit or seeking professional support to understand the most effective ways to prepare for an audit.<\/p>\n<p>We are hand to help you with all of your auditing needs so that you can make audits more efficient and improve the financial health of your business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For more efficient and effective audits, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/contact-us\/\"><strong>speak to our team today<\/strong><\/a><strong>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Emma Wilson, Partner There has been ongoing discussion about the need for audit reform for many years, ever since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/how-might-a-public-consultation-lead-to-changes-in-auditing\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  How might a public consultation lead to changes in auditing?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,11,17,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audit","category-blog","category-business","category-emma-wilson"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20114,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20113\/revisions\/20114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorethompson.co.uk\/specialist-sectors-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}