Audit watchdog chief calls time on bloated corporate reports

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, has warned that annual reports have swollen out of control, forcing directors to spend excessive time on compliance instead of strategy. In an interview with the Daily Mail, he said the steady expansion of environmental, social and governance disclosure has turned reporting into a defensive exercise that crowds out entrepreneurial thinking.

The watchdog chief argued that outsized documents also make it harder for investors and creditors to locate the information they actually need. Moriarty confirmed he has been discussing the problem with senior City figures, including fund manager Nick Train, and described the moment as a chance for a once-in-a-generation reset of reporting requirements.

From crisis to reform

The council has undergone significant upheaval since Moriarty took the top role three years ago. The 2018 failure of Carillion exposed what a review by Sir John Kingman called a "timid" regulator unfit for purpose. Kingman recommended replacing the FRC with an independent Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, but legislation to enact that change was shelved by the current government.

Recent fines imposed on Big Four accountancy firms show enforcement remains active. Yet Moriarty insists audit quality has come a long way since the breakdown of public trust in 2018. He argues the regulator must now help businesses take responsible risks rather than simply policing compliance.

What comes next

Any streamlining of reporting rules would require coordination across government, regulators and standard-setters. Moriarty's conversations with investors suggest there is appetite for change, but the scope of a "reset" remains undefined. For now, the signal is clear: the FRC wants boards focused on growth, not page counts.