The U.S. Department of Labor has issued results of a study of employee benefit plan audits that show a continuing need for improvement. A new AICPA audit quality initiative for the profession has a focus on employee benefit plan audits.
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TOPICS
Audit & assurance
PCAOB standards reorganized for easy navigation
The standards’ numbering system will follow the logical flow of the audit process.
IAASB revises ‘other information’ auditing standard
More involvement is required with material outside audited financial statements.
How to hire an EBP auditor
A proper financial statement audit is a critical component of an employee benefit plan’s accountability. The following tips can help plan administrators hire an auditor who will perform a high-quality audit.
PCAOB seeks feedback on auditors’ use of specialists
The PCAOB’s staff is asking whether the board’s standards adequately address auditors’ use of specialists, which is becoming more common as business transactions become more complex.
AICPA releases 6-point plan to enhance audit quality
The AICPA released a six-point plan with recommendations for improving audit quality, which covers several stages in the process of being or becoming an auditor.
AICPA issues Q&As for practitioners related to ALTA best practices framework
New technical questions and answers provide nonauthoritative guidance for practitioners regarding the types of engagements practitioners may perform in connection with the American Land Title Association’s “Best Practices Framework.”
Data analytics helps auditors gain deep insight
Advances in data analytics allow financial statement auditors to get more in-depth information about their clients’ businesses. Technological advances have the potential to change the audit landscape considerably, but mechanization appears unlikely to reduce the need for skilled auditors.
Driving faster decisions
Continuous monitoring and continuous auditing through data analytics provide internal audit with significant opportunities to provide added value to organizations. As these data-driven techniques grow in popularity, find out how the Hewlett-Packard Co. has used them to drive improvement.
Auditing
Auditing news from “News Digest.”
Will simpler also be better?
A number of standard setters and regulators are making efforts to reduce complexity in accounting standards and simplify financial reporting. These changes may free up finance employees from some reporting duties and allow them to focus on responsibilities that add more value to their organizations.
Revised IAASB standard increases auditors’ involvement with “other information”
Revisions issued by the IAASB require auditors to increase their involvement with information that is included in entities’ annual reports but is outside audited financial statements.
PCAOB reorganizes standards to follow flow of an audit
The PCAOB voted to reorganize its standards to make them easier to navigate and follow the flow of an audit.
How coordination enables compliance with the group audits standard
Learn how proper coordination between the group auditor and component auditors enables compliance with the standards.
PCAOB considering a more logical organization of its standards
The PCAOB will meet Tuesday to consider adopting a reorganization of its standards that is intended to make them easier to navigate.
“Pervasive” pressure challenges internal audit’s objectivity
Fifty-five percent of North American chief audit executives have been asked at least once to omit or modify an important audit finding, according to new research.
Internal audit may need a makeover
As businesses transform in response to market shifts, internal audit functions may need to provide more value-added services and proactive advice to management in the coming years.
Internal auditors confident in risk assessment but face possible talent shortage
Internal auditors are confident in their ability to identify emerging risks in a timely manner, but they may be facing a talent shortage, according to a new report.
Forging cooperation between internal audit, external audit, audit committee
The varied roles of internal auditors, external auditors, and audit committees often intersect. A new report describes how they can work together for mutual benefit.
Root cause analysis can improve audits, regulators say
Root cause analysis of audit issues has the potential to bring about significant improvements in audit quality, audit regulators said while presenting results of a global survey of audit inspection findings.
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