FRC publishes revised Practice Note 20
News types: Guidance
Published: 1 February 2017
The FRC has today published a revised Practice Note 20 (PDF), which brings together guidance for practitioners auditing insurance entities in the UK. The revised PN20 includes guidance on the application of ISAs (UK) to support the delivery of high-quality audit of insurance company statutory financial statements, insurers’ regulatory reports under Solvency II which the Prudential Regulatory Authority requires are audited in accordance with international standards on auditing, and friendly societies.
The FRC has today, also withdrawn the separate Practice Note 24 on the audit of friendly societies which has been superseded by revised material in the revised PN 20 (Feedback Statement and Impact Assessment: Revision of PN 20 and withdrawal of PN 24 (PDF)). The guidance was developed in cooperation with the Prudential Regulation Authority to reflect the revised landscape of prudential regulation under Solvency II, and includes illustrative auditor’s reports for regulatory engagements. It also includes material to support auditors working in the Lloyd’s Market. The revised PN 20 is available for immediate use.
The FRC has today, also withdrawn the separate Practice Note 24 on the audit of friendly societies which has been superseded by revised material in the revised PN 20 (Feedback Statement and Impact Assessment: Revision of PN 20 and withdrawal of PN 24 (PDF)). The guidance was developed in cooperation with the Prudential Regulation Authority to reflect the revised landscape of prudential regulation under Solvency II, and includes illustrative auditor’s reports for regulatory engagements. It also includes material to support auditors working in the Lloyd’s Market. The revised PN 20 is available for immediate use.
Under the Audit Regulation and Directive, most insurance undertakings have designated as public interest entities the audit of which is subject to direct oversight and regulation by the FRC as Competent Authority for Audit.
Practice Notes are intended to assist practitioners to comply with the requirements of standards, by providing additional contextual material on the application of standards in particular circumstances or in specialised sectors. Although not prescriptive, the FRC’s Framework for Developing Standards, Statements of Practice, Codes and Guidance states that the use of Practice Notes should be considered within the scope of the FRC’s review and monitoring work, and that those entities to which they are applicable should apply them in full, or be able to clearly justify non-compliance.