The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published final guidance on the relationship between supervisors and the external auditors of high impact firms, which reflects earlier work by former regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), calling for annual bilateral meetings.

The FCA Code of Practice sets out the principles that establish the nature of the relationship between the supervisor and auditor; the form and frequency that communication between the two parties should take; and the responsibilities and scope for sharing information between the two parties.

It states that supervisors and auditors should seek an open, cooperative and constructive relationship and engage in regular dialogue. They must also treat information shared between the two parties or received from regulated firms confidentially.

The FCA's Code has been updated to reflect changes in its statutory objectives, and a separate Code of Practice is to be published by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which also took over some of the duties previously handled by the FSA.