FRC revises auditing standards to reduce reporting burden

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has revised three auditing standards to make reports shorter, clearer and more useful to investors, following a public consultation.

The financial regulator updated ISA (UK) 700, ISA (UK) 701 and ISA (UK) 720 after receiving broad support from stakeholders across the audit, investment and governance sectors.

It comes as the FRC has seen auditor reports grow increasingly lengthy in recent years, often filled with boilerplate language that adds little value for readers.

The revised standards address this directly by removing unnecessary reporting requirements, sharpening the focus on useful information, and aligning UK standards with international equivalents.

For companies following the UK Corporate Governance Code, the standards introduce requirements for auditors to describe how company controls affected the audit. Auditors likewise must communicate very significant deficiencies in the report.

The regulator also published a myth-buster document to support consistent application of these requirements alongside the new Provision 29 obligations, which took effect in January 2026.

The document sets out what auditors must do when an annual report contains a Provision 29 statement on material controls.

Two outdated corporate governance bulletins from 2006 and 2009 have also been withdrawn as the revised standards supersede their guidance.

The changes support the government’s wider agenda on regulatory reform and economic growth by removing burdens while strengthening information quality.

The revised standards will take effect from 15 December 2026.