In Conversation: FRC Draft Plan and Budget 2026/27
Published: 15 December 2025
10 minute read
For this "In Conversation" podcast episode on the FRC's Draft Plan and Budget for 2026/27, Kate O'Neill, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs, is joined by Vinita Hill, Chief Operating Officer, and George Horgan, Head of Strategic Planning and Delivery. They discuss the priorities shaping the FRC’s work for the year ahead, the progress of its three year strategy for 2025-2028, and what stakeholders can expect from the consultation process.
Transcript
00:00:10:20 – 00:00:34:14
Kate O'Neill
Hello there, and welcome to another FRC in Conversation. My name is Kate O'Neill. I'm the Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Affairs here at the FRC. Today we are talking about the FRC’s consultation on its one-year plan and budget. I am joined by Vinita Hill, the Chief Operating Officer of the FRC, and George Horgan, who’s Head of Strategic Planning and Delivery.
00:00:34:15 – 00:00:36:17
Kate O'Neill
Welcome, Vinita and George.
00:00:36:22 – 00:00:37:18
George Horgan and Vinita Hill
Thank you, Kate. Thank you
00:00:37:20 – 00:00:47:18
Kate O'Neill
So, today we’ve published our draft plan and budget for 2026–27. George, can you first tell me: what is this document for? Perhaps more importantly, who is it for?
00:00:47:20 – 00:01:02:11
George Horgan
Thanks, Kate. Well quite simply, the plan and budget is where we set out our priorities and resourcing for the coming year—so that’s 2026–27. And this is for our stakeholders. It’s to give our stakeholders the opportunity to offer their views on our planned activities.
00:01:02:13 – 00:01:16:05
Kate O'Neill
Thanks, George. And Vinita, why is the draft plan and budget important from an operational perspective—especially to our stakeholders who, let’s face it, may not have a lot of transparency about the day-to-day operations of the FRC?
00:01:16:07 – 00:01:33:21
Vinita Hill
Yeah no thanks, Kate. I think it is really important to our stakeholders because it gives that transparency of our planned activity, and it shows how we’re going to use the funding that we receive. As you know, our funding is a mixture of statutory and voluntary levies to deliver what we are set to do. So it is important that we’re transparent with how we use that funding.
00:01:33:22 – 00:01:43:24
Vinita Hill
Also, this publication follows our three-year strategy that we set out last year. So it does allow the FRC to say: what progress have we made? How have we delivered on that strategy?
00:01:44:01 – 00:02:00:00
Kate O'Neill
Now that’s a very important link, Vinita, and I’m glad you’ve made it, because they don’t operate as two separate things—they’re obviously incredibly importantly intertwined. So Vinita, this is the FRC giving an update, rather than updating or changing our strategy.
00:02:00:03 – 00:02:22:10
Vinita Hill
Exactly that, Kate. To be honest, this is about our core activities—standard-setting, supervision, enforcement. They remain unchanged. They’re the foundation of what we do; they are sort of the bread and butter of how we support investor and stakeholder confidence. But what is really important is that we continue to ensure our work remains relevant, it’s impactful. And this is about how the FRC supports economic growth for the UK.
00:02:22:12 – 00:02:42:03
Kate O'Neill
And on that last point, Vinita, I guess it’s interesting because so much of what our work does is create the conditions and environment where UK corporates can thrive—because they can access capital with transparent reporting, strong financial reporting, but also with well-governed, well-run companies.
00:02:42:05 – 00:02:51:24
Vinita Hill
Yeah, I mean, exactly that, Kate. And I think you said “environment”—this is about creating that environment that sustains that confidence. And that’s why it’s so important.
00:02:52:00 – 00:03:00:18
Kate O'Neill
Certainly. So George, as Vinita just mentioned, we’re one year into our three-year strategy. What progress have we made on delivering against that strategy?
00:03:00:20 – 00:03:25:02
George Horgan
We’ve been busy over the past 12 months. A lot of activity, kicking off some really major projects at the FRC which are going to modernize our regulatory approach. We’ve also identified some opportunities for burden reduction. For example, we’ve updated the Stewardship Code 2026, and that’s reducing burdens on asset managers, owners, and service providers. And we’ve also consulted on guidance to support auditors.
00:03:25:02 – 00:03:36:04
George Horgan
So the auditing standards—the ISAs—we’re scaling those and making them easier for smaller and less complex businesses to use, which we plan to publish early in the new year.
00:03:36:06 – 00:04:03:21
Kate O'Neill
And Vinita and George. It’s important to remind listeners that the FRC is responsible for the whole audit market through the delegations we give to the various professional bodies who traditionally look at the smaller end of the audit market. So projects like you’ve just referenced, George, about making sure that there is proportionality in scaling the UK ISAs so they’re better used by auditors when auditing smaller and less complex businesses.
00:04:03:23 – 00:04:11:05
Vinita Hill
Yeah, absolutely Kate. It’s really important to remind listeners that we are responsible for the whole of the audit market. So yeah, I think it’s a really important point to get across.
00:04:11:07 – 00:04:19:21
Kate O'Neill
And Vinita, we’ve also been working on some major projects looking at how we undertake our approach to supervising and regulating auditors.
00:04:19:23 – 00:04:43:20
Vinita Hill
That’s right, Kate—we’ve been busy. So over the summer months we consulted on the Future Audit Supervision Strategy, which we like to call FAS. That is about evolving our supervisory approach. We wanted to make sure that it supports an environment that promotes system learning and a confident and resilient audit market. We’ve also had an open consultation on revising our audit enforcement procedure, and that includes proposals for a more end-to-end enforcement review.
00:04:43:21 – 00:04:58:03
Vinita Hill
It’s a really important piece of work, and that is looking at how we can introduce more graduated routes to resolution. I know there’s a lot of people interested in that. We’ve also launched initiatives for small audit firms to build their capacity and capabilities in the PIE audit market. So I think the summer has been very busy for us.
00:04:58:18 – 00:05:13:13
Kate O'Neill
Absolutely. And these projects are not standalone because there is some significant overlap, as some of these projects will affect all parts of the market as we’ve referenced previously. So George, how do we approach the development of our draft plan and budget?
00:05:13:15 – 00:05:33:23
George Horgan
We wanted to show how the FRC is delivering in the second year of its strategy, and that we’re providing a view of activity taking place across the organization as a whole. The other thing we wanted to demonstrate is how we’re able to deliver on our remit while showing value for money—and that’s especially important as we seek to minimize financial burdens on those that we regulate in the current business landscape.
00:05:33:23 – 00:05:41:05
George Horgan
And finally, one thing we wanted to do with this document is make it accessible for our stakeholders and show how we’re stretching ourselves.
00:05:41:07 – 00:05:49:04
Kate O'Neill
And Vinita, as we look ahead to 2026 and 2027, what are the big pieces of work that the FRC is planning to deliver?
00:06:09:20
Vinita Hill
Thanks, Kate. So the draft on a budget contains five major projects, and we touched on some of them earlier, but they all are designed really to support FRC continuing to modernize our regulatory approach. That's the essence of what they're about. And as I said, we touched on for them before. So the future of audit supervision strategy, the end-to-end review of our audit enforcement procedure.
00:06:09:20 - 00:06:19:15
Vinita Hill
And then there's the Innovation and Improvement Hub, which I know a lot of our stakeholders are really interested in. And that includes as well building capacity of the firms and our support, the SMEs.
00:06:19:17 - 00:06:43:11
Kate O'Neill
And that building the capacity. I guess we hear in so much of our work how having more competition, more access to auditors with the capacity and capabilities they need to stay ahead of their responsibilities as auditors and let's face it, an ever changing business environment. With the rise of things like I cyber, there's a load of different elements entering into the assurance landscape.
00:06:43:11 - 00:06:52:13
Kate O'Neill
So one of the key themes that comes across in the draft plan budget, Vinita, is the FRC moving from reviewing our work to implementing reforms.
00:06:52:18 - 00:07:19:19
Vinita Hill
I think that's right, Kate. This is more than just reviewing our work. It is about change as well. So looking at 26, 27, we're going to be really thinking about stakeholder feedback. We've heard on all the proposals we've put out to consultation and we're going to take forward those reforms in our ways of working. Also, I should add that we are launching a new major project, which is the fifth one that I did mention earlier, which is the Enterprise Resource Planning project, and that obviously is internally focused, but it is really important in how the FRC conducts ourselves.
00:07:19:19 - 00:07:26:17
Vinita Hill
It's about being a modern organization, and that is future proofing our operational effectiveness and streamlining our FRC systems.
00:07:26:23 - 00:07:34:01
Kate O'Neill
The two want you. Of course, there's going to be additional work beyond these major projects as we support the government's wider policy program.
00:07:34:03 - 00:07:49:02
George Horgan
That's true. There's a great deal going on beyond those major projects that we do in delivering our business as usual regulatory activities, and we'll also be supporting the governance initiative to modernize and simplify the UK's corporate reporting framework. And that includes a forthcoming consultation.
00:07:49:04 - 00:08:07:24
Kate O'Neill
And that's going to be an important part of the government's program. Given that reporting is so key to transparency for corporates, it hasn't been looked at in any great way for some time. The nature it's clear we've got a lot planned for the coming year. However, it is important to emphasize that we intend to deliver it while not increasing our headcount.
00:08:07:24 - 00:08:12:00
Kate O'Neill
So to the point you made before. Very well. It is about efficiency.
00:08:12:02 - 00:08:30:20
Vinita Hill
Absolutely, Kate, and you're right to emphasize this point. You know, when I say we are really mindful of the economic environment in which businesses and those we regulate are operating, and as the chief operating officer, it is my role on behalf of the CEO and the FRC team to make sure that we really do keep an eye on any increased costs, and we keep that to a minimum.
00:08:31:01 - 00:08:39:04
Kate O'Neill
And, George, we've launched a consultation on the draft plan and budget today. So how can stakeholders provide feedback and get involved to share their views?
00:08:39:06 - 00:08:56:09
George Horgan
Well, we've opened the consultation, as you say today on the draft plan and budget, and that will be open until the 6th of February. So we'd really welcome stakeholders views. I'm also really looking forward to meeting with stakeholders in the new year, which we are planning to do, and discuss the consultation and answer any questions that they have as well.
00:08:56:11 - 00:09:08:19
Kate O'Neill
So I guess from both Vinita and George, the players take an interest. Tell us your views because it really does shape your point for later about how the FRC can operate as efficiently and effectively as it possibly can.
00:09:08:21 - 00:09:15:04
Vinita Hill
Yeah, it really does. I mean, you know, we are keen to work with our stakeholders and our listeners as well. So yeah, please do have a look.
00:09:15:10 - 00:09:25:14
Kate O'Neill
All right. Thanks very much to Vinita. And George and have a look on our website for the draft consultation on our plan and budget for 26/27, which goes live today.
00:05:49:06 – 00:06:09:20
Vinita Hill
Thanks, Kate. So the draft plan and budget contains five major projects, and we touched on some of them earlier, but they are all designed to support the FRC in continuing to modernize our regulatory approach. That’s the essence of what they’re about. As I said, we touched on four of them before: the Future Audit Supervision Strategy, the end-to-end review of our audit enforcement procedure.
00:06:09:20 – 00:06:19:15
Vinita Hill
And then there’s the Innovation and Improvement Hub, which I know a lot of our stakeholders are really interested in. That also includes building the capacity of firms and supporting SMEs.
00:06:19:17 – 00:06:43:11
Kate O'Neill
And that building of capacity—I guess we hear in so much of our work how having more competition and more access to auditors with the capacity and capabilities they need to stay ahead of their responsibilities as auditors is critical. And let’s face it, in an ever-changing business environment, with the rise of things like cyber risks, there are a lot of different elements entering into the assurance landscape.
00:06:43:11 – 00:06:52:13
Kate O'Neill
So one of the key themes that comes across in the draft plan and budget, Vinita, is the FRC moving from reviewing our work to implementing reforms.
00:06:52:18 – 00:07:19:19
Vinita Hill
I think that’s right, Kate. This is more than just reviewing our work—it is about change as well. So looking at 2026–27, we’re going to be really thinking about stakeholder feedback we’ve heard on all the proposals we’ve put out to consultation, and we’re going to take forward those reforms in our ways of working. Also, I should add that we are launching a new major project, which is the fifth one I didn’t mention earlier: the Enterprise Resource Planning project. That is obviously internally focused, but it is really important in how the FRC conducts itself.
00:07:19:19 – 00:07:26:17
Vinita Hill
It’s about being a modern organization, and that is future-proofing our operational effectiveness and streamlining our FRC systems.
00:07:26:23 – 00:07:34:01
Kate O'Neill
Of course, there’s going to be additional work beyond these major projects as we support the government’s wider policy program.
00:07:34:03 – 00:07:49:02
George Horgan
That’s true. There’s a great deal going on beyond those major projects as we deliver our business-as-usual regulatory activities. We’ll also be supporting the governance initiative to modernize and simplify the UK’s corporate reporting framework, and that includes a forthcoming consultation.
00:07:49:04 – 00:08:07:24
Kate O'Neill
And that’s going to be an important part of the government’s program. Given that reporting is so key to transparency for corporates, it hasn’t been looked at in any great way for some time. It’s clear we’ve got a lot planned for the coming year. However, it is important to emphasize that we intend to deliver it while not increasing our headcount.
00:08:07:24 – 00:08:12:00
Kate O'Neill
So to the point you made before—very well—it is about efficiency.
00:08:12:02 – 00:08:30:20
Vinita Hill
Absolutely, Kate, and you’re right to emphasize this point. We are really mindful of the economic environment in which businesses and those we regulate are operating. As the Chief Operating Officer, it is my role on behalf of the CEO and the FRC team to make sure that we keep an eye on any increased costs and keep them to a minimum.
00:08:31:01 – 00:08:39:04
Kate O'Neill
And George, we’ve launched a consultation on the draft plan and budget today. So how can stakeholders provide feedback and get involved to share their views?
00:08:39:06 – 00:08:56:09
George Horgan
Well, we’ve opened the consultation today on the draft plan and budget, and that will be open until the 6th of February. We’d really welcome stakeholders’ views. I’m also really looking forward to meeting with stakeholders in the new year, which we are planning to do, and discussing the consultation and answering any questions they have as well.
00:08:56:11 – 00:09:08:19
Kate O'Neill
So I guess from both Vinita and George, the plea is: take an interest, tell us your views, because it really does shape your point from earlier about how the FRC can operate as efficiently and effectively as it possibly can.
00:09:08:21 – 00:09:15:04
Vinita Hill
Yeah, it really does. We are keen to work with our stakeholders and our listeners as well. So yeah, please do have a look.
00:09:15:10 – 00:09:25:14
Kate O'Neill
All right. Thanks very much to Vinita and George. And have a look on our website for the draft consultation on our plan and budget for 2026–27, which goes live today.