The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has recently provided a glimpse into the future of digital reporting in the UK, publishing a feedback statement outlining the key insights gathered from its discussion paper (DP), “Opportunities for Future UK Digital Reporting.”

This paper, released in August 2024, sought the views of a wide range of stakeholders – including preparers, regulators, software vendors, and investors – on how digital reporting should evolve in a post-Brexit environment and in light of new legislation like the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The FRC’s findings, unveiled on May 15, 2025, indicate strong support for the continued development of digital reporting in the UK. Stakeholders recognize the potential for enhanced transparency, accessibility, and efficiency that digital formats can offer for company accounts. The feedback also highlighted the necessity of a collaborative approach between the different stakeholders including: regulators, software vendors and preparers, to navigate the complexities of this evolving landscape in an EU-exit environment.

Key themes from the feedback

• Collaboration is crucial: A clear consensus exists among stakeholders for ongoing and close collaboration between the FRC, other regulatory bodies (such as Companies House, the FCA, and HMRC), and those responsible for preparing financial reports. This collaboration is seen as essential to reduce complexity and ensure a smooth transition to more advanced digital reporting methods.
• Need for enhanced guidance and support: Stakeholders emphasized the importance of improved guidance and readily available support materials. This includes clarity on tagging requirements, the appropriate level of granularity, and best practices for creating user-friendly digital reports. Many highlighted the challenges some companies, particularly smaller entities, face in navigating the technical aspects of digital reporting.
• Balancing UK-specific needs with international comparability: The discussion paper explored potential alternatives to the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) taxonomy. Feedback indicated a need to carefully balance the development of UK-specific reporting requirements with the desire to maintain international comparability of financial data for investors and other stakeholders.
• The role of assurance: While some stakeholders acknowledged the potential value of assurance in improving trust and data quality in digital reporting, concerns were raised regarding the associated costs, proportionality, and the potential burden on smaller entities. Suggestions included a phased implementation and aligning assurance processes with existing auditing frameworks.
• Importance of usability and accessibility: Stakeholders stressed that digital reports must be user-friendly and easily accessible. Concerns remain about companies not publishing the digital reports on their websites or providing them in formats that limit their value to users.

FRC’s response and next steps

Mark Babington, Executive Director of Regulatory Standards at the FRC, acknowledged the valuable insights provided by stakeholders. He stated that the feedback “clearly demonstrates that the digital reporting landscape in the UK is evolving, with stakeholders recognising both the benefits and challenges.”

The FRC has affirmed its commitment to enabling efficient and accessible digital reporting that serves the public interest while supporting UK economic growth. The insights gathered will inform the ongoing development and technical approaches to digital reporting across UK regulatory bodies.

The FRC has also recently launched a digital reporting Viewer, a free public tool designed to improve access to structured company reporting data, demonstrating its commitment to making digital information more usable.

While no immediate decisions will be taken this year as a direct result of the discussion paper, the FRC and other involved regulators will carefully consider the responses as they further discuss and strategize.

The UK Taxonomy Suite will continue to be strategically developed to support the digital reporting strategies and goals of these regulators. Any potential changes to digital reporting requirements will likely be subject to further consultation in the future.