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Global regulatory & profession weekly updates.
The IFRS Foundation’s 2026 World Standard-setters Conference is taking place in London on 28–29 September, bringing together national and regional standard-setters. Sessions cover IASB and ISSB priorities, consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards, cash flows, IFRS sustainability adoption and nature-related disclosures.
Deloitte reported global revenue of $74.5 billion for the year ended May 2026, with audit and tax growing faster while technology consulting slowed. The network continues major investment in AI and technology, including a planned $3 billion commitment through 2030.
The UK FRC issued revised ISA (UK) 620 and ISAE (UK) 3000 to align auditor and assurance-practitioner responsibilities with international ethical requirements for external experts. The revisions take effect for relevant periods or reports from 15 December 2026.
The IASB concluded technical discussions on its Equity Method project and will move to balloting a revised IAS 28. The revised standard is expected in the first half of 2027 and is planned to apply from 1 January 2029, with early application permitted.
The IFRS Foundation held a regional sustainability disclosure webinar focused on awareness and readiness in Francophone Africa. The session forms part of its capacity-building programme supporting understanding and implementation of sustainability disclosures.
The IASB’s September meeting covered Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity, amortised cost, the Equity Method, intangible assets, goodwill and impairment, cash flows, provisions and IFRS 9 hedge accounting. The agenda signals several potentially important future changes to IFRS Accounting Standards.
The IFRS Interpretations Committee met on 15–16 September to consider application questions involving IFRS 18, reassessment of control under IFRS 10, residual values under IAS 16 and sales of FVOCI equity investments under IFRS 9. Its agenda decisions can influence application of IFRS globally.
The UK FRC opened investigations into an accountant’s conduct relating to State Oil financing arrangements and KPMG’s audits of State Oil Limited for the years ended February 2022 and 2023. The FRC stresses that opening an investigation does not itself establish misconduct or breach.
The UK FRC set out its vision for a more modern and effective regulatory approach, alongside changes to audit supervision and enforcement. The direction emphasizes more targeted, timely and quality-management-focused oversight.
Public audit-oversight bodies (POBs) and IFIAR membership by country
PAO: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants · 6331 registered audit firms · 13084 registered auditors · IFIAR member. FRC oversees PIE auditors; ICAEW, ACCA, ICAS, ICAI are Recognised Supervisory Bodies (RSBs) for non-PIEs
Sustainability-reporting standards adopted by country (ESRS, ISSB, GRI, TCFD)
Premium/Std listed co.s >500 employees + large non-listed >£500M revenue (TCFD); UK SRS scope TBD · TCFD: FY 2022 onwards; UK SRS: effective date in regulation TBD · UK SRS to be based on IFRS S1/S2 with modifications (Scope 3 2-yr delay)
Accountancy bodies (PAOs) and their IFAC membership, by country
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1904
Members: 257,900 · Total income: 238,700,000
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1919
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1885
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1880
Members: 172,273 · Market penetration: 0.2533 · Total income: 140,400,000 · Total assets: 338,700,000
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1888
IFAC member · Accountancy Europe · Founded 1854
IFAC non-member · Founded 1928
Members: 7,000 · Market penetration: 0.007
IFAC non-member · Founded 1980
IFAC non-member · Founded 1916
Where company financial statements are filed and published, by country
All limited companies (Ltd, plc, LLP); micro/small companies may file abbreviated accounts · Annual accounts filed and freely available online; WebFiling portal for submission
Gross annual pay of accountants and external auditors, in US dollars (2026)
Modelled values use global occupational multipliers; use as directional estimates.
Gross pay in nominal US dollars (2026), not adjusted for living costs.
The main challenge for accounting and audit in each country, from public evidence (2026)
The Public Accounts Committee identifies delayed local audit reporting and complex, resource-intensive requirements.
Source: Timeliness of local auditor reporting - Committee of Public Accounts (news or professional publication)
National & global awards for the best annual reports and corporate reporting
Corporate Reporting Awards / Communicate magazine platform · Annual report; corporate reporting; sustainability/ESG and digital/reporting categories · UK-based organisations or entities listed on the London Stock Exchange; categories include FTSE 100/250 and broader reporting categories
CorporateRegister.com · Corporate responsibility / sustainability / non-financial reports · Global online awards for corporate responsibility and sustainability reports
PwC UK · Annual report; sustainability reporting; trust and transparency reporting · Organisations across the economy; reporting categories vary by year
GDP per capita (current US$), 2025 — World Bank Open Data
GDP per capita (current US$), 2025 · High income · over $14,005
Milestones in accounting and auditing, from clay tokens to sustainability reporting
William I's Domesday survey recorded landholdings and taxable resources across much of England, becoming a landmark in systematic fiscal recordkeeping.
Hugh Oldcastle's work introduced the debit-and-credit bookkeeping method in English, helping spread double entry in England.
An English translation of Jan Ympyn's accountancy manual further disseminated Venetian bookkeeping practices among English merchants.
John Mellis published A Briefe Instruction and Maner How to Keepe Bookes of Accompts, an important early English bookkeeping manual.
Richard Dafforne published a widely used English text explaining double-entry bookkeeping for merchants.
The East India Company's evolution toward permanent joint stock increased the importance of periodic accounts and accountability to outside investors.
The South Sea Bubble exposed problems in corporate promotion and financial information; the subsequent Bubble Act shaped the development of British companies for a century.
Edinburgh became an early center of professional accountancy practice as bankruptcy, estates and commercial disputes created demand for independent accountants.
The Act introduced incorporation by registration and required companies to maintain accounts, contributing to the development of corporate financial reporting.
Victorian company legislation helped establish the practice of appointing auditors and examining company accounts in statutory corporate structures.
William Welch Deloitte starts an independent accounting practice, the named origin of the Deloitte network.
Samuel Lowell Price opens the practice that later develops into Price Waterhouse.
Edinburgh accountants organized formally, leading to the creation of the world's first chartered body of accountants.
The Society of Accountants in Edinburgh received a Royal Charter, establishing the chartered accountant designation and a model for professional organization.
Accountants in Glasgow formed a professional institute, part of Scotland's pioneering development of chartered accountancy.
William Cooper starts the practice that becomes Cooper Brothers and later part of PwC.
Cooper’s practice becomes Cooper Brothers, a predecessor of Coopers & Lybrand.
The Act consolidated UK company legislation and provided an important legal framework within which corporate accounting and auditing developed.
Samuel Price joins William Holyland and Edwin Waterhouse in partnership.
Nineteenth-century amendments to company law reinforced the growing role of financial statements and shareholder scrutiny in corporate governance.
One of the regional professional bodies that later combined to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales was established.
The partnership adopts the Price, Waterhouse & Co. name.
By 1877 professional institutes existed in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, laying the institutional foundations for ICAEW.
Five English accountancy bodies united under a Royal Charter to form ICAEW, institutionalizing professional standards, training and the chartered accountant designation.
William Barclay Peat takes over a predecessor practice and adopts the WB Peat & Company name.
George Touche establishes a London accounting business, a predecessor of Touche Ross and Deloitte.
Eight accountants founded the London Association of Accountants, later ACCA, with an emphasis on access to professional qualification through examination.
The London Association of Accountants introduced its first professional examinations, strengthening examination-based entry to the profession.
Ethel Ayres Purdie became the first female member of ACCA, an important milestone for women's entry into professional accountancy.
Mary Harris Smith was admitted to ICAEW, becoming the first woman chartered accountant in the world.
Scotland's three historic chartered accountancy bodies merged to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
British, Canadian and US predecessor firms combine to form Coopers & Lybrand. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
Firms from five countries establish the network later called BDO. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
Professional accountancy bodies from nine countries created the International Accounting Standards Committee to develop international accounting standards.
The organization adopts initials drawn from Binder, Dijker and Otte. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
The IASC issued its first International Accounting Standards, beginning the formal body of international financial reporting requirements.
Alexander Grant, Thornton Baker and other firms establish a global accounting organization. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
Personal-computer spreadsheets rapidly transformed budgeting, modeling and financial analysis, moving many accounting processes from paper ledgers to digital workbooks.
Price Waterhouse creates its World Firm structure for international coordination. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
The Financial Services Act strengthened securities-market regulation and disclosure, part of the broader modernization of financial reporting and assurance.
The IASC published its Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements, providing concepts underpinning international standards.
The Ernst & Young and Deloitte–Touche Ross combinations reduce the Big Eight to six major international accounting organizations. London is a representative map hub for these cross-border changes.
The Ernst and Young predecessor organizations unite to form EY. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
The UK practice combines with Coopers & Lybrand, unlike the main international Deloitte merger.
Cooperation between IASC and securities regulators accelerated work toward a set of international standards suitable for cross-border capital markets.
UK guidance on internal control strengthened boards' responsibilities for risk management and control, influencing governance and audit practice.
Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand combine worldwide, reducing the Big Six to five. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
Mazars combines with a major independent UK firm, extending its international partnership. Map location: representative participating-firm hub, not a verified merger venue.
The International Accounting Standards Board replaced the IASC under a new independent structure and began developing International Financial Reporting Standards.
The UK Andersen offices combine with Deloitte & Touche during Andersen’s international breakup.
Summit adopts the name of its UK member firm to establish a shared international brand.
The IASB accelerated reforms to financial instruments accounting, ultimately producing IFRS 9 and a forward-looking expected-credit-loss model.
A global coalition began developing a framework connecting financial and non-financial information and explaining how organizations create value over time.
The first global Integrated Reporting Framework formalized principles for reporting strategy, governance, performance and value creation alongside financial information.
The IASB completed IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, introducing new classification, impairment and hedge-accounting requirements after the financial crisis.
IFRS 16 fundamentally changed lessee accounting by bringing most leases onto the balance sheet.
The collapse of Carillion intensified scrutiny of audit quality, competition and regulation in the UK and contributed to major reviews of the audit market.
The independent Brydon Review proposed redefining audit's purpose and strengthening the UK's audit profession and corporate reporting framework.
The IFRS Foundation began formal consultation on creating a global sustainability standards board, responding to demand for comparable investor-focused sustainability disclosures.
The IFRS Foundation announced the International Sustainability Standards Board to develop a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosure standards.
Two major corporate-reporting initiatives combined, accelerating consolidation of the sustainability and integrated-reporting landscape.
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