The FRC and its Audit Inspection Unit are facing unprecedented pressure to publish inspection reports on individual firms after another major accountancy player called for greater transparency in the regulatory process.

In a letter to Accountancy Age, Jeremy Boadle, managing director of tax and business services at Smith & Williamson, said the FRC owed it to the public to disclose the AIU’s findings on individual firms.

‘It is only right that this information is in the public domain and in my view clients deserve nothing less. Such transparency should genuinely benefit UK plc and, ultimately, the broader economy,’ said Boadle.

He argued that by making the AIU’s findings completely transparent, the FRC would go a long way to showing that firms outside the Big Four had the ability to deliver quality audits.

‘It would be helpful if the profession’s independent reviews of audit practices could be published, as this would confirm the robust quality of work provided by firms immediately below the Big Four,’ said Boadle.

Boadle’s comments follow earlier calls from BDO Stoy Hayward managing partner, Jeremy Newman, and Grant Thornton chief executive, Michael Cleary, for the AIU to make its findings public.

The FRC is consulting on the work of the AIU. The consultation closes on 22 September.