PCAOB updates general auditor responsibilities, quality control rules

The PCAOB on Monday adopted a pair of foundational auditing standards with ties to AICPA standards.

AS 1000, General Responsibilities of the Auditor in Conducting an Audit, aims to enhance and consolidate a group of standards provided by the AICPA for interim use when the PCAOB formed more than two decades ago.

QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, aims to create a new, risk-based system of quality management that in many ways aligns with International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) standards that became effective in December 2022 and related AICPA standards effective Dec. 15, 2025 — the same date that QC 1000 takes effect.

AS 1000

General Responsibilities of the Auditor in Conducting an Audit will take effect for audits of financial statements for fiscal years beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2024 (or one year later for firms providing audit opinions for 100 or fewer issuers).

According to a PCAOB news release, AS 1000 “does not create any new principles or responsibilities but simply clarifies those that already exist.” It does, while replacing AS 1001, AS 1005, AS 1010, and AS 1015, and amending other related standards, aim to:

• Modernize, clarify, and streamline the general principles and responsibilities of auditors and provide a more logical presentation, which should enhance the useability of the standards by making them easier to read, understand, and apply.
• Clarify the auditor’s responsibility to evaluate whether the financial statements are “presented fairly.”
• Clarify the engagement partner’s due professional care responsibilities by adding specificity to certain audit performance principles set out in the standards.
• Accelerate the documentation completion date by reducing the maximum period for the auditor to assemble a complete and final set of audit documentation from 45 days to 14 days.
• Clarify an auditor’s professional skepticism extends to other information that is obtained to comply with PCAOB standards and rules.

QC 1000

A Firm’s System of Quality Control states that “firms that are subject to both PCAOB standards and IAASB or AICPA QC standards — which we believe constitute a very substantial majority of firms that perform engagements under our standards — can leverage the work they have already done and the investments they have already made to comply with those other requirements.”

In a news release, PCAOB Chair Erica Williams said: “When quality control systems operate effectively, quality audits follow, and investors are better protected. We thank all the commenters who provided us with valuable perspectives on enhancing our approach to quality control, and we look forward to monitoring the new standard’s implementation and impact.”

According to the PCAOB, the new standard strikes a balance between a risk-based approach to QC and a set of mandates “which should assure that the QC system is designed, implemented, and operated with an appropriate level of rigor.” The standard includes the following key provisions:

• All PCAOB-registered firms are required to design a QC system that complies with the new standard. Firms that perform audits of public companies or SEC-registered brokers and dealers are required to implement and operate the QC system they design, monitor the system, and take remedial actions where policies and procedures are not operating effectively — creating a continuous feedback loop for improvement.
• Those firms would be required to annually evaluate their QC system and report the results of their evaluation to the PCAOB on new Form QC, which would be certified by key firm personnel to reinforce individual accountability.
• Firms that audit more than 100 issuers annually are required to establish an external oversight function for the QC system, referred to as an External QC Function (EQCF), composed of one or more persons who can exercise independent judgment related to the firm’s QC system.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.