New thematic reviews provide practical examples to strengthen corporate reporting
News types: Corporate Reports
Published: 14 October 2026
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today published two thematic reviews highlighting practical opportunities for companies to strengthen the quality, clarity and usefulness of their corporate reporting.
Examining financial instruments reporting and reporting on intangible value drivers, the reviews identify examples of good practice alongside areas where companies can make technical improvements to their reporting. Taken together, the publications support preparers in delivering high-quality, decision-useful information that tells a clear story of their performance and business operations.
Intangible value drivers
The FRC undertook the review of intangible value drivers as many business models are now especially dependent on intangible areas such as technology and knowledge.
The review selected 10 company reports and accounts across a range of sectors. The review encourages companies to better explain how their key intangible value drivers support their business model, strategy and future performance.
It also encourages companies to improve connectivity between the strategic report and the financial statements – ensuring that, where opportunities arise, relevant information is consistent and connected across the annual report.
Financial instruments
Financial instruments can materially affect companies’ reported performance, financial position and future cash flows and was the second most frequently raised topic in the FRC’s 2025/26 Annual Review of Corporate Reporting.
The FRC’s review of financial instruments builds on the FRC’s previous IFRS 9 thematic work, which largely focused on banks, and examines financial instruments reporting within the annual reports and accounts of 20 listed corporates reporting under UK-adopted IFRS Accounting Standards.
The review found no material issues in relation to the application of IFRS 9, representing an encouraging finding in this area. It did, however, identify opportunities to improve the clarity and usefulness of disclosures under IFRS 7 in relation to hedge accounting, expected credit losses and debt factoring.
The report highlights the benefits of taking a principles-based approach to disclosure. The FRC encourages preparers to focus on providing clearer, more connected and company-specific information, while applying materiality effectively to remove unnecessary detail and improve the overall usefulness of disclosures.
Read the Intangible value drivers thematic