The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has updated a UK auditing standard and a UK assurance standard to ensure continued conformity with global frameworks issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
The updates ensure compatibility with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Code), which sets ethical rules for using external specialists in audit, assurance and non-assurance work.
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According to the FRC, synchronising definitions and practitioner duties for assessing an outside expert’s competence, capabilities and objectivity ensures coherence between IAASB standards and the updated IESBA ethical provisions.
Targeted modifications were made to the core requirements and application material within both ISA (UK) 620 and ISAE (UK) 3000.
These changes clarify practitioner obligations when relying on outside experts and reinforce expectations for rigorous assessment and documentation.
The regulator stated that using unified standards across multiple territories helps reduce compliance costs for companies fulfilling their reporting and audit requirements, whilst supporting consistent and high-quality audit and assurance delivery.
The FRC also reaffirmed its commitment to tracking IAASB international standards, except in circumstances where an overriding public interest necessitates a UK-specific measure.
The updated standards apply to financial statement audits for accounting periods commencing on or after 15 December 2026, as well as assurance reports dated on or after that date.
In July this year, the FRC updated its Auditor Regulatory Sanctions Procedure and the Crown Dependencies’ Recognised Auditor Sanctions Procedure.
