Hong Kong's Financial Reporting Council to double staff this year

Hong Kong's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is confident that it will successfully complete its plan to double its staff from 56 to 115 by the end of this year. FRC reported that the turnover rate of its accounting and legal professionals jumped by 8.9% year-on-year to 11% for the fiscal year of 2021. In its annual inspection report, the FRC said it saw an improvement in overall audit quality last year, with 32% of inspection cases rated as requiring no more than “limited improvements”, up from 27% in 2020. On auditor resignations in China's property sector, the FRC said it has been concerned about the issue and will observe the competence of the successor auditor, adding that follow-up actions will be conducted in due course.