ACCA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on this ‘Re-consultation on ISA (UK) 250 (Revised) and ISA (UK) 270 (Revised)’. We commend the FRC for re-consulting on these standards and for taking into consideration the feedback received in these new proposals. 

While we are generally supportive of the proposals, ACCA has concerns regarding the inconsistency between the proposed ISA 250 (UK) (March 2026) and the Internation Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) ISA 250 (Revised), ‘Consideration of laws and regulations in an audit of financial statements’. This divergence from the equivalent international standard on auditing is likely to be in existence for a long period of time as the revision of ISA 250 (Revised) is not included within the immediate plans of IAASB.  ACCA would support any efforts by the FRC to encourage alignment by the IAASB. 

Notwithstanding the above concerns, we have considered the revised proposals and have the following comments. 

In relation to the proposed ISA 250 (UK) (March 2026):

• We agree with the removal of the distinction between direct and indirect laws and regulation and with the revised objective of the proposed ISA 250 (UK) (March 2026), subject to, clarity in relation to laws and regulations in scope. This is to ensure work effort aligns to the FRC intention. 
• We welcome the clarifications around involvement of legal specialists within the standard itself and in the consultation document. As stated in paragraph 29 of the consultation i.e. specialist legal skills will not normally be required on an audit. We suggest including this language in the application guidance of the standard for additional clarity.
• We encourage the FRC to consider issuing supporting guidance for management, primarily responsible for ensuring that the entities they run comply with relevant laws and regulations, ahead of the implementation of this standard. 

In relation to the proposed ISA 270 (UK) (March 2026):

• We believe the extent to which the retained proposals in ED2 ISA (UK) 270 will enhance and strengthen the auditor’s identification of matters that should be reported to an appropriate authority outside the entity will depend upon consistent application in practice. An increased reliance on auditor judgement and the broader scope of potential reportable matters may lead to variability in identification and a risk of defensive over-identification. 

To read our comments in full, please download the document found on this page.