ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.

Audit and corporate governance reform

At a Business and Trade Committee evidence session in March 2024, ICAEW re-emphasised the need to maintain progress with balanced reform, including legislation to establish ARGA. ICAEW’s Audit and Assurance Faculty unpacks the key issues.
Contents
Back to top
Future-looking binoculars
ep 67 westminster sign
A person working at a table with a laptop, papers and a calculator
Accounting
hand finger pointing digital screen computer audit technology ICAEW
Insights

Why the resilience statement hasn’t gone away

Despite the government dropping a requirement for UK plc to produce a resilience statement, some businesses still see the benefits of adopting its principles.
Read more
Podcast

Where next for audit and governance reform?

In this Insights In Focus episode, we discuss the future of audit and corporate governance reform.
Listen now
Informing policy

We need audit reform from our next government

ICAEW has given evidence to the Business and Trade Committee on the challenges of audit and corporate governance reform. Iain Wright, ICAEW’s Managing Director, Reputation and Influence, explains what’s needed.
Read more
Insights

FRC slashes UK Corporate Governance Code revisions

More than half of the proposals outlined in its consultation will not be taken forward in the interests of reducing burdens, regulator says.
Read more
Resources

Audit and technology

Digital tools are helping audit to evolve in a data-heavy, fast-moving corporate world. Innovative analytical and artificial intelligence tools are transforming audit, enabling auditors to be more collaborative and provide greater insights in real time.
Read more

Latest news and insights

IoD code of conduct for directors needs teeth, ICAEW warns
  • Article
  • 26 Jun 2024
ICAEW expresses concerns about the effectiveness of a voluntary code with no enforcement mechanism or register of signatories.
Influencing policy to support you: May 2024
  • Article
  • 31 May 2024
ICAEW has been meeting with MPs to discuss economic growth and the opportunities offered by technology, as well as giving evidence to parliament on audit reform and the effectiveness of sanctions on Russia.
Audit reform is “a priority for Labour”
  • Article
  • 14 May 2024
Jonathan Reynolds MP, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary, lays out broad plans for a Labour government should they win the next general election.
Why the resilience statement hasn’t gone away
  • Article
  • 18 Apr 2024
Despite the government dropping a requirement for UK plc to produce a resilience statement, some businesses still see the benefits of adopting its principles.
Sustainability: the most-needed knowledge for boards
  • Article
  • 16 Apr 2024
Every NED – not just ‘the ESG person’ – must have a basic grasp of sustainability issues for a board to function effectively, says Jeannette Lichner.
How the ‘thinking board’ boosts corporate resilience
  • Article
  • 11 Apr 2024
Boards that prioritise transparency and risk awareness will have the correct mindset to help their companies withstand shocks.
We need audit reform from our next government
  • Article
  • 28 Mar 2024
ICAEW has given evidence to the Business and Trade Committee on the challenges of audit and corporate governance reform. Iain Wright, ICAEW’s Managing Director, Reputation and Influence, explains what’s needed.
Lessons from a Cypriot corporate governance crisis
  • Article
  • 26 Mar 2024
A governance code for state-owned enterprises in Cyprus that emerged following the republic’s economic crisis has much to teach all organisations, says one of its leading authors.
More articles

Exploring the headline reforms

Where next for audit and governance reform?
  • Podcast
In this Insights In Focus episode, we discuss the future of audit and corporate governance reform.
Developing a meaningful Audit and Assurance Policy
  • Report
ICAEW recommendations in this report and the extensive outreach and evidence gathering process on which they are based, suggest that introducing an “Audit and Assurance Policy“ could render corporate information more informative.
Sharpening the focus on corporate fraud: an audit committee perspective
  • Thought leadership report
This report from ICAEW's Audit and Assurance Faculty considers audit committee perspectives on the nature and extent of corporate fraud and what the corporate sector is doing to improve the chances of preventing and detecting it.
Audit manifesto
  • Article
This manifesto for audit distils knowledge and insights from ICAEW’s AuditFutures initiative into five principles for building a modern audit profession.
Sharpening the Focus on Corporate Fraud
  • Report
What steps are audit firms taking now to better facilitate fraud deterrence and detection and what more can be done by all players in the financial reporting ecosystem?
Driving more informative auditor resignation statements
  • Helpsheets and support
Are auditors providing meaningful information in their resignation statements, and if not, why not? This article looks at the requirements and what stakeholders have been saying.

Thought Leadership: the future of audit

Audit quality: how to raise the bar
  • Thought leadership report
What steps can and should audit committees, audit regulators, investors and auditors in the UK take to improve audit quality? This essay from the Audit and Assurance Faculty examines audit quality in terms of ownership, behavioural aspects, and structural drivers.
Fraudulent financial reporting: fresh thinking
  • Report
In this essay we focus on ways in which the skills and insights of auditors can be brought to bear to maximise the likelihood of identifying fraudulent financial reporting.
Shared and joint audits: are two auditors better than one?
  • Article
Governments and regulators are considering whether to mandate shared or joint audits in an attempt to increase audit quality, competition and choice.
User-driven assurance: fresh thinking
  • Thought leadership report
With calls for better engagement between auditors and users, we recommend the application of a three "pillar" model of what we call "User-Driven Assurance"; a new way of thinking about assurance, directed in its first phase by the needs of the primary user – the shareholders.
Internal control effectiveness: who needs to know?
  • Thought leadership report
Reporting on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting features prominently in the current reviews of UK audit and regulation. This essay explores the current position in the UK, compares it with what happens in the USA and elsewhere in the world, and sets out the case for change and potential options.
Internal controls reporting: sketching out the options
  • Thought leadership report
What might a future framework for reporting on internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) look like? This essay from the Audit and Assurance Faculty examines various reporting frameworks, including COSO and the UK Code, as well as how these fit in with Sir Donald Brydon’s recommendations.
What auditors do: the scope of audit
  • Thought leadership report
Recent corporate failures have increased public concern about the value of audit and the role of auditors. To help inform debate on the scope of audit, this second supporting paper to our Future of Audit thought leadership essays explains what auditors do, why audits are necessary, the limitations of audit, and what gets audited and what doesn’t.
Financial reporting: who does what?
  • Thought leadership report
This overview explains in simple terms who does what in the financial reporting system for UK companies with full main market listings.

Quality management

With new quality management standards for audit on the horizon, there is an opportunity for firms of all sizes to supercharge their audits and reap significant knock-on benefits that go beyond ticking the regulatory box

Find out more
Buildings