FRC issues guidance on auditor independence requirements for PISCES-traded companies
News types: Guidance
Published: 25 June 2026
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a new staff guidance note following the launch of the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) in 2025.
PISCES is a new type of trading platform, currently operating within an FCA sandbox, which allows certain categories of investor to trade shares in private companies at intermittent trading events. The FRC issues staff guidance notes for the convenience of users of the FRC’s Ethical Standard and ISAs (UK), to support practitioners when they make judgments on the application of standards.
This Staff Guidance Note assists auditors by explaining why the FRC has determined that companies traded on PISCES should not currently be treated as listed entities for the purposes of applying the Ethical Standard, and sets out the principles underlying that determination.
Should the FRC's position change, it will provide notice of no less than one year via a revised staff guidance note.