On 14 October 2014, a total of 274 reports and accounts drawn up in the year end 31 March 2014 were reviewed for the purposes of this FRC report. The annual report gives a holistic view on the condition and quality of current reporting, especially noting the following:
- It appears that smaller companies display more deficiencies in both the structure and content of their published reports. The FRC has adopted a 3 year initiative focussing on these smaller companies, and aims to improve their standards of reporting.
- The FRC has frequently had to request confirmation or clarification regarding the following areas of corporate reporting: exceptional terms, critical judgements, principal risks and general policies of accounting.
Boards should bear the following in mind during the next season of reports:
- Providing feedback on the effects of certain new accounting standards;
- Improving the ways in which critical judgements, accounting policies and estimation uncertainties are reported; and
- Compliance with IFRS 13 in terms of intangible assets when contemplating an acquisition.
The annual report is available at: https://frc.org.uk.
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