WIREDGOV

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) yesterday published its finalised Plan and Budget for 2011/12, which is available at: http://www.frc.org.uk/about/plans.cfm.

Stephen Haddrill, FRC Chief Executive, said:

“This Plan benefits from the constructive input of our many stakeholders and we are grateful to them for their encouragement. It contains a focused set of objectives aimed at increasing the value of corporate reporting and governance to investors.

“The consultation raised a number of important issues, in particular the need for the FRC to maximise its influence in Brussels and internationally during a period of significant regulatory change. We are putting more effort into this area. Since we published our draft plan the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has reported and we will respond fully to this during the summer.

“Crucially, we will keep our own costs under control with our core operating budget reducing by 5% for accounting, audit and corporate governance and by 8% for actuarial standards and regulation”.

In 2011/12 the FRC will focus its work on four major outcomes:

• Stronger and better-informed engagement between institutional investors and company boards.
• Corporate reporting and auditing that deliver greater value to investors and better serve the public interest.
• A strong UK voice in the EU and international debate on the future regulation of corporate governance, reporting and auditing.
• New powers and a new structure for the FRC that reflect the Government’s Agenda for Growth and command widespread support from those who rely on the quality of corporate governance and reporting in the UK.

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance and reporting to foster investment.
2. The FRC promotes high standards of corporate governance through the Combined Code, but does not monitor or enforce its implementation by individual boards. It sets standards for corporate reporting and actuarial practice and monitors and enforces accounting and auditing standards. It also oversees the regulatory activities of the professional accountancy and actuarial bodies and operates independent disciplinary arrangements for public interest cases involving accountants and actuaries.
3. All media enquiries should be addressed to Jonathan Labrey, Head of communications, +44 (0)20 7492 2395 or email at: J.Labrey@frc.org.uk.