Germany: new corporate governance code - copy in English now available

Earlier this month the Corporate Governance Code Commission published an updated edition of the German Corporate Governance Code: see here. A copy of the new Code is now available in English, together with a press release outlining the changes that have been made: see here.

UK: FRC publishes audit quality assessment practice aid for audit committees

Following requests for further guidance, the Financial Reporting Council has published a practice aid to assist audit committees in their evaluation of audit quality: see here (pdf). Further information is available here and also in the short, accompanying leaflet: see here (pdf).

UK: FRC publishes annual audit inspection report

The Financial Reporting Council has published its annual report on audit quality, based on inspections of 109 private sector audits: see here (pdf). Separate reports for five individual audit firms have also been published: see here. The FRC concludes, on the basis of its inspections, that the quality of audit work is improving although it remains concerned that 33% of the audits inspected required improvements or significant improvements.

IASB consults on revised conceptual framework for financial reporting

The IASB is seeking views on proposed amendments to the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: see here. The exposure draft is available here (pdf) and a summary of the proposed changes is available here (pdf). Further background information is available in the 'basis for conclusions' document published by the IASB to accompany the exposure draft: see here (pdf).

If the proposed amendments are accepted, the revised conceptual framework will, amongst other things, give greater prominence, within its discussion of the objective of financial reporting, to the importance of providing information needed to assess management's stewardship. Another proposed amendment provides additional text as part of the explanation of 'faithful representation', one of the fundamental qualitative characteristics. This new text provides that a faithful representation is one that provides information about the substance of an economic phenomenon instead of merely providing information about its legal form. Changes to the definitions of assets and liabilities are also proposed.

UK: The Queen's Speech - Bank of England Bill proposed

The State Opening of Parliament took place today and the Government's legislative programme was set out in The Queen's Speech: see here. Amongst the proposed Bills is the Bank of England Bill, the purpose of which - according to the accompanying briefing notes - is to further strengthen the governance and accountability of the Bank of England and implement the recommendations of the Warsh Review.