Audit Firm Resources (overview)

Published: 23 February 2024

3 minute read

As an improvement regulator by promoting continuous improvement in audit firms, we have set up a resource hub for PIE audit firms to get easier access to FRC audit-related publications.

Thematic reviews

To help promote continuous improvement in audit firms, we publish anonymous thematic reviews by comparing and contrasting between firms on a specific area or aspect of the audit or firm-wide procedures to identify good practice and improvement areas.

What Makes a Good… series

We have also published ‘What Makes a Good Audit’ and ‘What Makes a Good Smaller PIE Audit Firm’, setting out our expectations of the key elements that make up a good audit, and of an audit firm that plans to enter the PIE audit market or has a small PIE audit portfolio in performing high-quality audits.

Documents
Name What Makes a Good Audit
Publication date 15 November 2021
Type Report
Format PDF, 3.0 MB
Name What Makes a Good Smaller PIE Audit Firm
Publication date 25 May 2023
Type Report
Format PDF, 3.2 MB

Culture and conduct

The right culture at audit firms drives the desirable behaviours and mindsets that are necessary for delivering high-quality audits.

We undertake review work to assess and monitor various aspects of audit culture at the firms, including ethical conduct matters, with a specific focus on the behaviours and mindset that correlate to high-quality audit.

Documents
Name What Makes a Good Environment for Speak-Up and Internal Challenge
Publication date 7 May 2024
Type Report
Notes A good environment for effective challenge and speaking up is imperative in facilitating audit quality and high standards of ethical conduct within audit firms. Having a good speak-up culture underpins the purpose of serving the public interest and maintaining trust in the profession by supporting wider ethical behaviour, whilst also promoting audit quality. This publication sets out the key elements of a good speak-up workplace culture and highlights considerations and good practice for each of these elements.
Format PDF, 406.9 KB
Name What Makes a Good Environment for Auditor Scepticism and Challenge
Publication date 23 November 2022
Type Report
Notes The FRC conducted a thematic review setting out the key attributes of a high-quality audit environment that enable professional scepticism and challenge in an audit. This paper includes good practice identified from our supervisory work.
Format PDF, 1.2 MB
Name Review of What Makes a Good Environment for Auditor Scepticism and Challenge by Karthik Ramanna
Publication date 23 November 2022
Notes A commentary on FRC’s thematic review on auditor scepticism and challenge by Karthik Ramanna, a professor of business and public policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.
Format PDF, 192.6 KB
Name Audit Firm Culture Report
Publication date 21 November 2022
Type Report
Notes The FRC commissioned independent research agency BritainThinks to conduct research on audit firm culture to support its thematic review on auditor scepticism and challenge.
Format PDF, 860.6 KB
Name Culture Conference - Collection of Perspectives
Publication date 2 December 2021
Type Report
Notes The FRC held a virtual conference on audit firm culture in June 2021. This Collection of Perspectives collates a number of essays written by academics, audit firms, directors, regulators and culture experts, on the themes discussed at the conference.
Format PDF, 2.3 MB

Operational resilience

Operational resilience is fundamental to the ability of an audit firm to withstand risks and threats to its viability and, therefore its ability to deliver audits.

We assess and monitor various aspects of firms’ operating models, risk management frameworks, crisis and contingency planning, liquidity and access to credit and adequacy of the firms’ professional indemnity insurance coverage.

Documents
Name Recovery and Resolution Planning - Guidance and Benchmarking for Audit Firms
Publication date 29 April 2024
Type Guidance
Notes The FRC has updated its good practice guidance in relation to audit firm recovery and resolution planning.
Format PDF, 141.5 KB
Name FRC Offshore delivery centres - Good practice suggestions
Publication date 1 May 2024
Type Guidance
Notes The FRC has published some good practice guidance in relation to the use of Offshore Delivery Centres in the delivery of UK audits.
Format PDF, 1.9 MB

Letters to audit firms

As part of our supervisory activities we write to the Chief Executives and/or Heads of Audit at the Tier 1 audit firms on topical matters. These letters can serve a number of purposes, including:

  • To highlight areas of audit quality concern on which we want the firms to take immediate action.
  • To ask questions regarding matters or themes that have come to our attention at one or more firms, that we wish to explore with other firms.
  • To seek assurances from firms in relation to quickly emerging matters that could present a risk to audit quality, or the resilience of firms and/or the audit market.
  • To provide updates on progress made in areas we have raised with firms in the past.

These letters may be of interest to all audit firms, both those that audit public interest entities (PIEs) and non-PIEs, and other stakeholders including other regulators and so we publish the letters on our website.

Letters
Name Exam cheating (December 2022)
Publication date 21 December 2022
Type Letter
Format PDF, 175.0 KB
Name Risk of climate change
Publication date 15 December 2022
Type Letter
Format PDF, 274.3 KB
Name Exams cheating (July 2022)
Publication date 15 July 2022
Type Letter
Format PDF, 139.2 KB
Name Challenge of Management
Publication date 8 December 2020
Type Letter
Format PDF, 312.2 KB
Name Going Concern (November 2020)
Publication date 24 November 2020
Type Letter
Format PDF, 193.9 KB
Name Going Concern (June 2020)
Publication date 2 July 2020
Type Letter
Format PDF, 186.5 KB
Name Achieving high quality audits
Publication date 18 December 2019
Type Letter
Format PDF, 180.1 KB

Scalebox

We have launched the Scalebox to assist firms develop and maintain audit quality as they start out in the PIE audit market and as they grow.

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