CRR Case Summaries and Entity-specific Press Notices
The FRC publishes, on a quarterly basis, summaries of its findings from recently closed reviews that resulted in a substantive question to a company (‘Case Summaries’). In addition, it publishes the names of companies whose reviews were closed in the previous quarter without the need for a substantive question. No Case Summary is prepared for such reviews.
Case Summaries, which are available for cases closed in the quarter ending March 2021 onwards, are included in the table below. As, currently, the FRC is subject to existing legal restrictions on disclosing confidential information received from a company, the Case Summaries can only be disclosed with the company's consent. Where consent has been withheld by the company, that fact is disclosed in the table.
From March 2018 until March 2021, the FRC published the names of companies whose reviews were closed in the previous quarter but did not prepare Case Summaries. However, on an exceptional basis, specific cases may be publicised through entity-specific Press Notices, which can also be found in the table below.
The FRC’s reviews are based solely on the company’s annual report and accounts (or interim reports) and do not benefit from detailed knowledge of the company’s business or an understanding of the underlying transactions entered into. They are, however, conducted by staff of the FRC who have an understanding of the relevant legal and accounting framework. The FRC’s correspondence with the company provides no assurance that the annual report and accounts (or interim reports) are correct in all material respects; the FRC’s role is not to verify the information provided but to consider compliance with reporting requirements. The FRC’s correspondence is written on the basis that the FRC (which includes the FRC’s officers, employees and agents) accepts no liability for reliance on its letters or Case Summaries by the company or any third party, including but not limited to investors and shareholders.
Key
- Only a certain number of CRR’s reviews result in substantive questioning of the Board. Matters raised may cover questions of recognition, measurement and/or disclosure.
- CRR’s routine reviews of companies’ annual reports and accounts generally cover all parts over which the FRC has statutory powers (that is, strategic reports, directors’ reports and financial statements). Similarly, CRR’s routine reviews of companies’ interim reports will generally cover all information in that document. Limited scope reviews arise for a number of reasons, including those conducted when a company’s annual report and accounts or interim report are selected for thematic review or reviews that have been prompted by a complaint. In accordance with the FRC's Operating Procedures, for Corporate Reporting Review, CRR does not identify those companies whose reviews were prompted by a complaint.
- The FRC may ask a company to refer to its exchanges with CRR when the company makes a change to a significant aspect of its annual report and accounts or interim report in response to a review.
- Case closed after 1 January 2021 but performed under operating procedures that did not allow for the publication of Case Summaries.
- From the quarter ended June 2023, the FRC started identifying the auditor of the annual report and accounts, or the audit firm that issued a review report on the interim report, that was the subject of the CRR review. This information was also back-dated for closed cases publicised from the quarter ended September 2022. Cases marked N/A relate to those published prior to September 2022 or interim reviews that did not have a review opinion.’
Case Summaries
CRR Case Summaries and Entity-specific Press Notices (Excel version)
| Entity | TJX UK |
|---|---|
| Balance Sheet Date | 29 January 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | TP ICAP Group plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | Deloitte LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Travis Perkins Plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | TUI AG |
| Balance Sheet Date | 30 September 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftprüfungsgesellschaft |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Tyman Plc (3) |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | Yes |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice |
Offsetting of deferred tax balances We asked for further information about the company’s application of paragraph 74 of IAS 12 ‘Income Taxes’ to its deferred tax asset and liability balances, which were presented on a gross basis in the accounts. The company concluded that certain asset and liability balances arose in the same tax jurisdiction and met the criteria for offsetting under IAS 12. The company agreed to restate the 31 December 2021 comparatives in its 2022 accounts, offsetting these balances. Offsetting of bank overdraft The company presented its cash at bank and bank overdraft balances on a net basis in the accounts on the basis of its cash pooling arrangements giving a legal right of offset. We asked for further information about the application of paragraph 42(b) of IAS 32 ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’, in conjunction with the IFRS Interpretation Committee’s March 2016 decision regarding cash-pooling arrangements. Following a review of their cash pooling arrangements, the company concluded that, although there is a legal right of offset, as they did not settle the entire period-end balance subsequent to the year-end and had further transactions before the next net settlement date, the second criterion of IAS 32 paragraph 42 was not met. The company agreed to restate the 31 December 2021 comparatives in its 2022 accounts, presenting the balances on a gross basis. As both of the above restatements related to a primary statement, we asked the company to disclose that the matters had come to its attention as a result of our enquiry. Research and development expenditure We asked for further information about the company’s development costs and the associated accounting policy. The company provided further context for its development activities and explained its policy in more detail. It agreed to make some clarifications to its policy in its 2022 accounts, and to disclose the total R&D costs expensed to the income statement in accordance with IAS 38 ‘Intangible Assets’. |
| Entity | UK Power Networks Holdings Limited |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | Deloitte LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Unilever PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Vistry Group Plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | Yes |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice |
Land options We asked the company to explain its accounting policy in respect of land options, as there was an apparent inconsistency in the subsequent accounting treatment between the options separately purchased and those obtained as part of an acquisition. The company provided adequate explanation and agreed to consider the materiality of disclosing land options separately and to clarify the accounting policy in respect of these assets in its future annual report and accounts. Remuneration of key management personnel We noted that the amount of key management personnel’s wages and salaries was significantly less than the remuneration of directors disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration Report. The company acknowledged that certain elements of remuneration within the key management personnel note had been omitted and undertook to restate the comparatives and amend its definition of key management personnel to also include non-executive directors. Parent company pension arrangements We asked the company whether it was the sponsoring employer for the group’s defined benefit pension schemes. The company clarified that the sponsoring entity was a subsidiary and agreed to amend the narrative in the notes to the financial statements to reflect this. |
| Entity | WD FF Limited |
| Balance Sheet Date | 25 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | Grant Thornton UK LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | WH Smith PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 August 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Wincanton plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | BDO LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Wise plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2023 |
| Auditor (5) | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | 3i Group plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | December 2022 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Adriatic Metals PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2021 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | December 2022 |
| Auditor (5) | BDO LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Airtel Africa plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2022 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | December 2022 |
| Auditor (5) | Deloitte LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |