Financial Reporting Council

Professional discipline

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the independent disciplinary body for accountants, auditors and actuaries in the UK. It operates separate disciplinary schemes for the accountants and accountancy firms, one for auditors and another for the actuaries.

The disciplinary arrangements contribute to the achievements of the FRC’s mission by:

1. •

   safeguarding the public interest by protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the accountancy and actuarial professions and declaring and upholding proper standards of conduct by accountants and actuaries

2. •

   providing a demonstrably fair and independent system for investigating, and where appropriate, taking disciplinary action in significant public interest cases of potential misconduct

3. •

   imposing appropriate sanctions where misconduct has been proved, and

4. •

   seeking to deter future misconduct

The disciplinary schemes operate independently of the professional bodies. The Enforcement Division of the FRC has responsibility for conducting investigations and for bringing enforcement action against auditors, accountants, accountancy firms and actuaries who are suspected of committing misconduct or for breaching their professional duties.

The Case Examination and Enquiries team within the Enforcement Division are responsible for identifying cases of potential breach from across the different