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 | Midwich Group Plc |
|---|---|
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | Grant Thornton UK LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | M.P. Evans Group PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | BDO LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | musicMagpie Plc (3) |
| Balance Sheet Date | 30 November 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | Yes |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | RSM UK Audit LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice |
Property, plant and equipment (PPE) and related cash flows We queried why cashflows arising from the acquisition of rental assets were classified as investing activities, rather than within operating activities as required by IAS 7, ‘Statement of Cash Flows’. The company acknowledged that the amounts should be included within operating activities and agreed to revise the presentation and restate comparative figures in its 2024 annual report and accounts. As the change affected a primary statement, we asked the company to disclose the fact that the matter had come to its attention as a result of our enquiry. We also asked the company to explain how balances included in the PPE note reconciled to amounts in the cash flow statement and in the calculation of an adjusted performance measure. The company provided us with reconciliations of the relevant amounts and agreed to amend its disclosure in future accounts to provide greater clarity on the presentation adopted. Impairment testing We asked the company to clarify which cash generating units (CGUs) goodwill had been allocated to for the purposes of impairment testing, and how these CGUs related to its operating segments. The company provided the requested information and agreed to update future disclosures to provide additional clarity. We asked the company for further details of the assumptions used in its calculations of value in use and the basis on which management had determined these assumptions. The company provided this information and agreed to expand the disclosures to quantify the values assigned to all key assumptions and to provide additional sensitivity disclosures in its next annual report. We requested further details of the company’s approach to valuing its investments in subsidiaries and amounts due from group companies in the parent company financial statements. The company provided a satisfactory response in respect of these matters. |
| Entity | Newarthill Limited |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 October 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | Forvis Mazars LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 January 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | RSM UK Audit LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Odyssean Investment Trust PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Personal Group Holdings Plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | Ernst & Young LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Pod Point Group Holdings plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | Yes |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice |
Impairment testing of goodwill and other intangible assets We requested further information about the key goodwill impairment assumption disclosed in relation to the growth in group revenue from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2027. The company agreed to disclose the forecast revenue growth rate by cash-generating unit (CGU), as well as further information about how the growth rate was calculated and the extent to which it reflects past experience and external information, in its 2024 annual report and accounts. We sought clarification of whether the narrative in the sensitivity analysis was correct in referring to the pre-tax discount rate. The company confirmed that these disclosures relate instead to the post-tax discount rate and agreed to adjust the description in its 2024 annual report and accounts. Impairment testing of parent company investments in subsidiary undertakings We noted that a significant proportion of the recoverable value of the investment in subsidiary undertakings balance arose within the International and Energy Flex CGUs, with these CGUs representing newer business activities. We asked whether the future cash flows for these CGUs were estimated based on the assets in their current condition and were satisfied with the company’s explanation. We asked for an explanation of the basis on which a single discount rate was considered appropriate for all the CGUs, despite their different risk profiles. The company clarified that the risks specific to the individual CGUs were adjusted for in the future cash flow estimates when testing impairment at both the group and parent company level. It agreed to explain this in its 2024 annual report and accounts. Recoverability of intercompany debtors in parent accounts We requested more details about how the credit loss provision for the intercompany debtors was determined. The company’s response was satisfactory. |
| Entity | Polar Capital Technology Trust Plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 30 April 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Portmeirion Group Public Limited Company |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Limited |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | Forvis Mazars LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Quadgas HoldCo Limited |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | Deloitte LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Redcentric plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Samworth Brothers (Holdings) Limited |
| Balance Sheet Date | 30 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | BDO LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Sanctury Capital PLC |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 March 2024 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | No |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | KPMG LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice | N/A |
| Entity | Savannah Resources Plc |
| Balance Sheet Date | 31 December 2023 |
| Exchange of Substantive Letters (1) | Yes |
| Scope of Review (2) | Full |
| Quarter Published | March 2025 |
| Auditor (5) | BDO LLP |
| Case Summary / Press Notice |
Tax provisions We sought clarification of the accounting treatment applied to a potential capital gains tax liability in relation to discontinued operations. The company explained that the related expense was included as an operating expense within the loss on discontinued operations for the year. We did not consider it proportionate to question the classification of the expense further as it did not affect the results from continuing operations. We noted that separate disclosure of a tax expense included within the loss on discontinued operations is required under IFRS 5, ‘Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations’. Consolidated statement of cash flows We requested more information about the restricted cash balance and related reversal of impairment disclosed in the consolidated statement of cash flows in relation to discontinued operations. The company provided the requested information, and we highlighted the requirement of IFRS 5 to disclose the nature and amount of adjustments made in the current period to amounts previously presented in discontinued operations. We also asked the company to explain a material difference between the additions to intangible exploration assets in the year and the related investing cash outflow reported in the consolidated statement of cash flows. The company satisfactorily responded to our enquiry. |