This Press Notice concerns the opening of an investigation into one or more Statutory Auditor(s) and/or Statutory Audit Firm(s)[1]
. The investigation does not relate to any persons or entities other than the relevant Statutory Auditor(s) and/or Statutory Audit Firm(s) and it would not be fair to treat any part of this announcement as constituting or evidencing an investigation into any other persons or entities. The opening of an investigation does not indicate that the FRC has made, or will make, any findings of breach of Relevant Requirements.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has commenced an investigation in relation to the statutory audit conducted by Ernst & Young LLP (EY) of the consolidated financial statements of Shell plc (Shell) for the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
On 2 July 2025 Shell announced to the London Stock Exchange that EY had reported non-compliance with audit partner rotation rules, including exceeding the time limitations for partner rotation under the UK FRC’s Revised Ethical Standard[2]
. The investigation will include consideration of whether Relevant Requirements relating to partner rotation have been breached.
The decision to open the investigation was made at a meeting of the FRC’s Conduct Committee on 21 October 2025.
The investigation will be conducted by the FRC’s Enforcement Division under the Audit Enforcement Procedure.