Quarterly consultations: September 2026

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Published: 30 September 2026

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today launched one consultation seeking stakeholder feedback in support of the development of UK audit and assurance policy. The FRC will announce the majority of its remaining consultations later this year in December.

Consultation on Appendix to Client Assets (CASS) Assurance Standard: Safeguarding Assurance for Payment and E-Money Institutions

The FRC is consulting on a new appendix to the CASS Assurance Standard: Safeguarding Assurance for Payment and E-Money Institutions to support the implementation of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) safeguarding regime.

In its Policy Statement PS25/12: Changes to the safeguarding regime for payments and e-money firms published in August 2025, the FCA introduced a new safeguarding audit requirement for certain payment services and e-money institutions. In response, the FRC has developed a new Appendix to the CASS Assurance Standard to provide a framework for practitioners undertaking those safeguarding assurance engagements. This Appendix will replace the FRC’s Interim Guidance on Payment and E-money Safeguarding Assurance Engagements issued in March 2026. The FRC is now seeking stakeholder views on the new Appendix.

The proposed Appendix supplements the CASS Assurance Standard by providing requirements and application material tailored to the specific features of safeguarding assurance engagements. It has been developed following discussions with a dedicated working group comprising representatives from regulators, practitioners, payment services and e-money firms, and other stakeholders.

The proposed Appendix does not create the requirement for safeguarding audits, expand the scope of institutions that are subject to those audits, or introduce a new regulatory obligation.

These are matters which have already been consulted on by the FCA. Read the consultation document and the new Appendix.

Stakeholders are invited to submit their responses to the consultation to [email protected] by 23:59 on Thursday 26 November 2026. Comments should be focused on the FRC Appendix and not on the underlying FRC regulatory framework.

The FRC will host a roundtable on Tuesday 3 November 2026 between 10:00 and 11:30 to provide stakeholders an opportunity to find out more about the new Appendix to the CASS Assurance Standard and share their views. This roundtable will by in-person only at the FRC’s offices and stakeholders should email [email protected] to express their interest in attending.