Quarterly consultations: March 2026
News types:
Published: 26 March 2026
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today launched two calls for stakeholder feedback to support the development of UK audit policy. This year, the FRC will announce the majority of its remaining consultations in June, September and December.
Calls for stakeholder views on ISA for Less Complex Entities ahead of IAASB engagement
The FRC is calling for stakeholders to share their views on the International Standard for Auditing for Less Complex Entities (ISA for LCE) to inform its ongoing engagement with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
In December 2025 the IAASB launched a project with proposals to maintain the ISA for LCE, which is scheduled to run until June 2027. The FRC considers this a valuable opportunity to address its concerns over the standard, including those identified by its stakeholders – especially where they are using the ISA for LCE for non-statutory audits.
The FRC is therefore seeking to better understand stakeholders’ views on the ISA for LCE, including desired amendments for the standard at an international level. Stakeholders are especially encouraged to share their views on how audits of less complex entities can be delivered more proportionately while providing the same level of assurance and evidence as a full ISA (UK) audit.
This call for views is not exploring the adoption of the current version of the LCE standard in the UK, or on whether a revised version would be adopted. The FRC will consider the adoption of any revised LCE standard issued following the conclusion of the IAASB’s project.
Stakeholders are invited to submit their responses to the call for views to [email protected] by Thursday 21 May 2026.
Re-consultation on proposed revisions to auditing standards ISA (UK) 250 and ISA (UK) 270
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is re-consulting on its proposals to revise two auditing standards to ensure auditors take a proportionate approach to a key area of their engagements with entities. Today's proposals build directly on stakeholder feedback from the FRC's initial consultation in 2023/24 and are designed to deliver targeted, proportionate standards that support high-quality audit without placing unnecessary burdens on auditors or the entities they audit.
ISA (UK) 250: Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements
The revisions to ISA (UK) 250 seek to introduce a risk-based approach to audit work on laws and regulations, focusing on risks of material misstatement that are due to non-compliance with laws and regulations. This includes the removal of the outdated distinction between "direct" and "indirect" laws and regulations, a focus on laws that are "fundamental" to how an entity operates and clarification that specialist legal expertise will not normally be required.
ISA (UK) 270: Special Considerations for Audits of Public Interest Entities—Communicating and Reporting to an Appropriate Authority Outside the Entity
ISA (UK) 270 is renamed, renumbered and made more principles-based to make clear that reporting obligations to appropriate authorities can arise across any area of the audit, not only in cases of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The revised standard also provides greater clarity on which authorities auditors should report to and confirms that this may mean reporting to more than one authority.
Read the consultation document
At a glance: re-consultation on ISA (UK) 250 and ISA (UK) 270
Register for the FRC's webinar on the re-consultation of ISA (UK) 250 and ISA (UK) 270
Stakeholders are invited to provide written responses to the consultation to [email protected] by Thursday 28 May 2026.