FRC takes steps on transparency
The new Financial Reporting Council is to hold an annual meeting in which members of the public can question the body, as part of its drive towards greater transparency, writes Paul Grant.
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According to FRC chairman Sir Bryan Nicholson, the organisation will aim to be ‘transparent to the maximum degree possible’ when it officially comes into being from the beginning of April.
‘One of the things we have agreed in principle is that once a year we should have the FRC equivalent of an agm, at which the public and interested parties can come along to cross-question myself and colleagues,’ said Sir Bryan.
Other plans for transparency under discussion include the provision of agendas for board meetings in advance and allowing public attendance at the meetings.
The soon-to-be-updated website will play a crucial role, with Sir Bryan promising that the maximum amount of material will be put on there. Only where there are strong reasons for confidentiality will there be exceptions to this. ‘We’ve got to be a lot more open than either the Accountancy Foundation or the old FRC ever was,’ added Sir Bryan.
Despite the increase in size and scope of the FRC, which goes live from 1 April, Sir Bryan is keen to keep the flexible approach that he developed while in charge at the body.
‘The task is going to be to demonstrate that in a larger organisation we can still be as flexible and sympathetic to the concerns of the constituencies,’ he said.