The ambitious budget for the new, more powerful, Financial Reporting Council should be confirmed by September after its chairman Sir Bryan Nicholson admitted he was to hold talks with representatives of listed companies in the next month or so.
Link: Toughened FRC needs substantial budget to work
The council, which from next year will house five boards including the more proactive Financial Reporting and Review Panel and the new Professional Oversight Board for Accountancy, hopes to obtain a £12m budget for its first full year shared between the government, the accountancy profession and listed companies.
It has already obtained government agreement to contribute a third of the costs and expects little opposition from the accountancy profession as the amount required will be similar to its current commitments to the FRC and soon-to-be-defunct Accountancy Foundation. However its requirements from listed companies will be greatly increased.
‘I will have to go and talk to the various bodies representing listed companies and hope to have a certainty over budgets in September,’ said Sir Bryan.
The Confederation of British Industry and the Financial Services Association, which will raise the levy on listed companies, are understood to be the main targets of Sir Bryan in gaining approval for the budget.
The FRC should officially take on its new responsibilities early next year, although Sir Bryan has indicated that it is likely to assume many of the tasks before that.
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