Surgent's Focus on Engagement Quality: How to Avoid Deficiencies in Peer Reviews

Overview

With the AICPA’s heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor’s overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of an audit such as the auditor’s assessment of risk and linking the results of the assessment to substantive procedures performed. In addition, auditors are not adequately documenting their consideration of fraud, expectations in analytical procedures and the appropriate level of work needed to understand an entity’s internal control. Now is time to revisit the way that auditors are performing and documenting the work performed to meet professional standards since nonconforming engagements can result in an auditor’s referral to the AICPA Ethics Committee.

There have not been significant changes to quality control standards since 2006. In June 2022, two new statements on quality management were issued. Another statement was issued recently to incorporate the changes to the Group Audit Standard (SAS 149). A related audit standard on engagement quality, SAS 146, and an accounting and review service standard, SSARS 26, were also issued. These changes are substantive. They are effective for years beginning after December 15, 2025.

This course will also focus on the most significant items resulting in deficiencies identified in the peer review process. We will also discuss the applicable audit standards, documentation requirements, and best practices. We will specifically look at the issues related to the peer review “must select” audit areas: Government Auditing Standards and Single Audit and Employee Benefit Plans. Finally, we will discuss issues in compilations and reviews as well as disclosure deficiencies noted by peer reviewers.

The objective of the course is to provide the insights necessary to help auditors and accountants improve not just the quality of their work but also the perception of the accounting profession as a whole.

Highlights

• AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality initiative
• Recent revisions to Quality Management standards
• Feedback from peer reviews, including areas driving deficiencies in audit
• Elements of an effective risk assessment and how to link to audit procedures performed
• Understanding internal controls and making the decision whether or not to test them
• Issues related to compilations and reviews
• Issues related to employee benefit plans
• Issues related to Government Auditing Standards/Single Audits
• Best practices in documentation

Prerequisites

Experience in accounting and auditing

Designed For

Accounting and auditing practitioners at all levels desiring to improve engagement quality

Objectives

• Identify key elements of the AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality initiative
• Recognize key trends in recent peer review deficiencies noted
• Identify professional standards related to performing a risk assessment, understanding and testing internal controls, and linking these procedures to further audit consideration
• Implement best practices to help ensure overall engagement quality

Notice

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