Audit watchdog swaps Canada for Canary Wharf’s Harbour Exchange
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has revealed it is swapping its Canada office for Harbour Exchange in Canary Wharf.
The regulator also announced its three-year strategy from 2025 to 2028, where it stated that it was relocating to Canary Wharf.
Confirming it to City PM, the FRC said its new office will be in the Harbour Exchange in South Quay, but timings are still not yet known.
Over the course of the next three years, it will be expanding its new Birmingham office with a fresh recruitment policy.
After delays, the regulator opened its midland office, with a strategy to have a dual-hub operation between the two cities.
The FRC has four objectives over the next three years, which includes improving audit quality, especially across the public interest entities (PIE) market, and avoiding unnecessary cost increases.
The regulator said it is “embracing its role as a modern, forward-looking regulator”, with a focus on the need to “recruit and retain the necessary skills”.
The watchdog also noted it wants a step change in this period in how it uses and exploits technology, data and information management within the organisation.
Other elements on its horizon it believed was relevant to its strategy was the growing interest from private capital in taking a greater participation in the UK audit market.
The surge of private equity in professional services, especially those with audit practices, has taken the City by storm. The FRC recently revealed it was not against private equity investment in the sector in principle, but warned of risks that needed to be managed in the process.
While back in July, it was confirmed in the King’s Speech that the long-awaited audit overhaul was green-lit, as the Labour Government unshelved the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill.
The Bill contains plans to reform the FRC into a new regulator, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), which was shelved last November by the previous government in order to focus on “growth and the UK’s competitiveness”.
The strategy noted that it “very much welcome the government’s commitment” to bring
forward draft legislation to reform the FRC.
“This change will help us more effectively meet our purpose and ensure our regulatory perimeter is more relevant to how corporate UK works today.” The strategy noted that subject to Parliamentary approval, by the end of this 2025-28 strategy the transition to ARGA “should hopefully be a reality.”
Commenting on the next three years, FRC CEO, Richard Moriarty, said: “Since taking on the role of CEO a little over a year ago, I have focused on ensuring the FRC is restless at seeking to improve the way it delivers its public interest purpose and supports UK economic growth and investment.”
“Our draft three-year strategy and draft plan and budget for 2025/26 embody this approach,” he added.