Transparency Report 2023 - Kevin Ellis transcript

Welcome to our 2023 PwC UK Transparency Report. At PwC we recognise how important transparency is to our reputation. This report sets out the action we have taken as a firm to ensure our audit teams have access to the right expertise and technology, and to embed a culture that has at its heart our commitment to deliver consistently high audit quality.

This last year has continued to present a number of complex challenges, ranging from economic uncertainty to political turbulence, inflationary pressures and the ongoing cost of living crisis. We've also seen high profile failures outside of the UK that serve to remind us of the importance of acting ethically, and having the right culture and governance structures in place. Within this business environment, enhancing trust remains absolutely critical, and I’m proud of the important contribution that our audit teams make to maintaining it.

The nature and magnitude of the challenges faced by the organisations we audit require our teams to work together ever more closely, sharing knowledge, expertise and experience. I have been consistently clear about the benefits we see from being a multi-disciplinary firm and, in a complex external environment, this close collaboration is critical to enhancing both audit quality and the insight we can provide organisations through our audit work.

This approach is reflected in our New Equation strategy, which focuses on the benefits of building teams with diverse perspectives, experiences and expertise, and investing in our skills and technologies. Through this human-led, tech-powered strategy the PwC network is making an incremental $3bn investment in quality, including a $1bn investment in a five-year programme to deliver a next generation audit ecosystem. This will enable us to make continuous improvement to audit quality by further standardising, simplifying, centralising and automating our audit work, transforming the experience for our stakeholders and our people.

These network-wide investments sit alongside the continued investment in our UK audit practice, and commitment to delivering high quality audits. We are pleased to have maintained a consistent quality standard in the most recent inspection cycle, and to have the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recognise our commitment to continuous improvement.

We have continued to share our perspectives about the broader audit reform agenda with the Government, and the FRC. We are already responding to the growing demand for robust, independent assurance and insights across organisations’ important non-financial information, including areas such as ESG and cybersecurity. As stakeholder expectations continue to evolve, we remain committed to ensuring the UK retains its position as a leader in audit, reporting and corporate governance, and remains a trusted, attractive and competitive business environment.