Audit Qualification 2030: Structured interviews with non-PIE Audit firms

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) regulates auditors, accountants and actuaries and sets the UK's Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. As the Competent Authority for audit in the UK, we set auditing and ethical standards and monitor and enforce audit quality.

The FRC requires Research Services. This research concerns the pre-qualification education, training, and assessment of UK statutory auditors insofar as those matters relate specifically to non-PIE UK audit firms. By non-PIE UK audit firms we mean firms that carry out UK statutory audits, but do not audit Public Interest Entities (PIEs).

The project will interview a selection of non-PIE audit firms to gain insights from them about current approaches to training, and to understand the barriers to effective training. The interviewed sample of firms will include both those that do, and that do not, currently offer training (i.e. that do/do not employ trainee auditors during their pre-qualification years).

Outputs and Deliverables

• Full transcripts (appropriately anonymised) from the interviews

• A presentation of early indicative findings from the initial interviews, by late September

• A report/presentation drawing out themes that emerged, with illustrative quotes, etc. The report/presentation will be delivered in interim form (by mid-October) and final form (by late-December).

The Supplier will anonymise all outputs so the FRC will not be able to identify which firms and individuals participated. Anonymised data/findings from the research may be referred to and quoted in published FRC documents (e.g. public consultation/discussion papers).

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