In a lengthy response to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) market study on the future of audit for SMEs, the Society of Professional Accountants (SPA) is urging the regulator to introduce the International Standard on Auditing for Less Complex Entities (ISA for LCE) standard on audit in the UK.

Smaller firms are highly critical of the overly complex UK audit framework for SME audits, particularly the large amount of paperwork and box ticking exercises that have to be completed for audits. They describe the requirements are too detailed, and ‘at present one cannot see the wood from the trees’, said one respondent to the SPA request for comments on the issue.

Howard Gross, director of the SPA asked members from small firms and audit file reviewers to comment on the FRC consultation which was launched on 3 February 2025.