Introduction
This online course is being delivered live in a single 4 hour session which runs from 13:00 – 17:00 London (UK).
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) completed its project on the revision of the Quality Management Standards in 2019. The objective of this project was to improve the robustness of firms’ systems of quality control through introducing a more proactive, tailored approach, increasing leadership and governance accountability and responsibility and improving the focus on monitoring and remediation. The revision also incorporated calls for scalability as well as modernisation.
The revision to this suite of standards comes at a time when the profession is facing increasing global criticism for its role in failing to detect, or act, to prevent rising corporate governance failures, and a concerning number of audit quality indicators showing findings in areas where there are increasing accounting complexities, in particular in estimates and significant judgements. With the recent release of new accounting standards by IFAC for IFRS 15, 16, 7 and 9, for example, many auditors have fallen short on audit quality relating to the auditing of these complex matters. These accounting changes represent an example of a risk to audit quality. A key aspect of the revision of the quality management standards is a shift to a risk based approach to audit quality management which requires the assessment and design of an appropriate risk response. This is an excellent example of an audit quality risk that can be proactively identified by a firm and managed through interventions so as not to impact audit quality adversely.
The quality management standards comprise 3 standards – ISQM1, ISQM2 and ISA220, relating to Quality Management at a Firm Level, the Management of Engagement Quality Reviews and Quality at Engagement Level respectively.
This short course is designed to enable auditor to understand the requirements of the new quality management standards and the process for practical implementation within firms. The standards are applicable from 15 December 2022. By this time, all firms to which these standards apply must have designed and implemented a system of quality management that complies with these standards, and be ready to commence its use.