ACCA’s Regulatory Board has released its latest annual report, outlining how it maintained oversight of the association’s regulatory arrangements in 2024 and what lies ahead in 2025.
The report comes against the backdrop of continued geopolitical instability, rising expectations around corporate governance, and growing scrutiny over sustainability reporting.
The Report on regulation 2025 summarises the activities of the Regulatory Board and its supporting Appointments, Qualifications and Standards Boards.
It highlights how the board has worked to ensure that ACCA’s regulatory systems remain “robust, transparent and proportionate” while adapting to a shifting risk environment.
Lucy Winskell, Chair of the Regulatory Board, noted:
“This year, the Board has paid particular attention to the ongoing proposals regarding UK audit and corporate governance reform, scrutinising changes arising due to implementation of sustainability assurance reporting and evaluating the implementation of ACCA’s Digital Transformation programme where those changes could impact ACCA’s regulatory arrangements to ensure they remain robust.”
The report points to a high level of lay representation on the board as a “real differentiator and strength,” helping to ensure impartiality and deliver public value.
The Board also undertook a review of its own effectiveness at the end of 2024, with follow-up discussions held in early 2025. Recommendations from that process include more horizon scanning linked to risk, and improvements to internal reporting papers.
The board also received updates on employer perceptions, strategy developments, and ACCA’s performance under its Strategy to 2025.
Maggie McGhee, executive director of strategy and governance at ACCA, commented:
“ACCA’s world is changing at a fast pace but it has always thrived by embracing challenges and turning them into possibilities. ACCA’s purpose states that we are a force for public good. We lead the global accountancy profession by creating opportunity.”
She added:
“Our purpose and our values of inclusion, integrity and innovation reinforce everything we stand for: who we are, how we act, and why we exist in today’s world. Strong and effective governance is the foundation on which our public value remit is built.”