The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published the white paper Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance – Government Response to the Consultation on Strengthening the UK’s Audit, Corporate Reporting and Corporate Governance Systems, in May 2022. There will be more guidance to follow as the legislation is drafted and enacted, which will also specify the timescale from when the different elements will apply (but will be at least a full annual reporting period as a minimum).

Public interest entities

A key aspect of the white paper is clarification that third sector organisations will be classified as public interest entities (PIEs) if they meet the new 750:750 size threshold. The reference to entity in this statement is an interesting one, as if a third sector organisation meets the size threshold, then it will be a PIE, which is a wider definition than that of a limited company only. However, certain entities, like local authorities, are excluded from the extended definition, as are some other public sector bodies if they are already subject to other similar requirements.