Government recommendations on audit reform, set to be published next week, will hold directors responsible for failures in financial reporting.

The UK financial watchdog has announced that the operational separation of audit must take place by the end of June 2024.

Signs of change at the top as BDO is ranked second only to PwC by number of listed clients—although FTSE 100 audits remain the preserve of the Big Four.

PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG saw audit income grow by 1.7% in 2017–18 compared with 5.7% the previous year, amid continuing pressure for market reform.

Revised code shifts the emphasis from stating policies to assessing outcomes, with ESG and climate named as key areas for companies to take into account.

The author of a review into the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has written to the business select committee to protest that the Queen’s Speech failed to include FRC reforms.

Changes include a shorter list of permitted extra services and a stronger role for an “ethics partner” inside audit firms.

A number of recent reviews have concluded that greater scrutiny of the audit process is necessary, after a series of high-profile corporate failures. But what shape will any legislation take? And how will changes to the role of the audit committee affect the board as a whole?

The government has launched a consultation on creating a new governance and audit watchdog with more powers, to replace the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

This past year has been packed with governance events from the launch of new codes, executive pay debates, and leadership behaviour debacles to climate change, cybersecurity scandals and the Khashoggi murder.