Professional services for scenario development, facilitation and delivery of an audit market resilience exercise

***THIS IS A CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE***

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) regulates auditors, accountants and actuaries and sets the UK's Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. We seek to promote transparency and integrity in business; our work is aimed at investors and others who rely on company accounts, audit, and high-quality risk management. As the Competent Authority for audit in the UK, the FRC sets auditing and ethical standards and monitors and enforces audit quality.

A key FRC strategic objective is to create a more resilient audit market through greater competition and choice. The FRC's supervisory activities work towards achieving this aim through its 'four faces' model, that encourages UK audit firms to prudently manage their risks and so reduce their likelihood of failure. The FRC also has a role to play in responding to the challenges faced by the largest providers of audit services, as firm shocks that could harm resilience could cause market instability, and/or could result in reduced audit quality and choice in the market for statutory audit services.

The FRC has launched a Project to test its responsiveness to one of its principal market risks occurring. The Resilience Project will culminate in a market-wide exercise involving the FRC and other organisations.

The FRC sought tender submissions from experienced providers to help plan and facilitate the proposed market-wide exercise Autumn 2024.

The nature of the project will involve a degree of confidential and sensitive information.

The audit market resilience exercise is likely to involve representatives from the FRC, the larger audit firms, UK financial regulators who may regulate the clients of the larger audit firms, the Government (i.e., Department for Business & Trade), and possibly an international audit regulator.

The FRC required the successful contractor to conduct all three key project stages (set up, evidence gathering, and reporting) in accordance with the Competition Act 1998, Competition and Markets Authority Guidance, and other applicable laws and regulations.

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Additional information: THIS IS A CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE.

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