In his opening speech Sir Winfried Bischoff paid tribute to his predecessor, Baroness Hogg, and noted the many activities of the FRC since he became Chairman. These included:

• The FRC's first stakeholder conference
• The issuance of the Guidance on the Strategic Report
• An update on the 'true and fair' principle of accounting
• The publication of the 2014 Corporate Governance Code and associated guidance

He also noted that, looking forward, attention will be focussed on the need to expand the work of the Conduct Committee in the light of EU and Competition Commission developments.  Major projects on the quality of reporting by smaller and AIM listed companies and Clear and Concise reporting will continue, and the results of the thematic review on the audits of banks and financial institutions will be issued later in 2014.

Stephen Haddrill then discussed the work of the FRC during the past year. Main activities included:

• promoting high quality corporate governance and effective investor stewardship by having investors that were willing and able to engage with companies was essential to the effective operation of the comply or explain principle on which the Code was based;
• setting standards for accounting, audit and actuarial information;
• monitoring the quality of audit reports and auditing - the FRC is a world leader in its approach to publishing information about the firms it monitors;
• overseeing the accountancy and actuarial professions, including the provision of a disciplinary scheme; and
• engaging with EU and international organisations, including liaising with the international Boards for accounting standards and auditing standards, the European Commission and European supervisory authorities and with other European Member States.

He also discussed the significant changes to the Code as a result of the revisions just published, corporate reporting developments during the year (including the introduction of the new UK GAAP regime and simplified requirements for micro-entities) and the FRC's contribution to developments around audit choice and auditor reporting.

He highlighted the importance of the FRC's international role, ensuring that the views of the UK and its capital markets were understood both in Brussels and in Washington. In relation to this he particularly highlighted the FRC's relationship with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

The full transcript can be downloaded from the FRC website.