The July installment of the monthly newscast series also featured a look at the recently released ACFE Report to the Nations, and the first in a series of conversations about revenue recognition and digital assets.
Audit & assurance
Warning for EBP audit firms: Service agreements can create headaches
A letter from the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center addresses nondisclosure agreements and recommends actions that auditors can take to avoid running afoul of legal, regulatory, or professional standards.
Financial restatements drop, a good sign for reporting quality
The number of financial restatements filed with the SEC dropped by more than 50% from 2013 to 2022, according to a Center for Audit Quality study.
Audit smarter by reassessing audit risk
The AICPA Center for Plain English Accounting has developed steps to reimagine risk assessment in a more focused and efficient way.
A&A Focus recap: Top A&A and employee benefit plan issues
The June installment of the monthly newscast series reviews the top issues raised at two of the AICPA’s premier conferences, looks at software being used by auditors, and includes an update from the AICPA’s chief auditor.
TQA addresses related-party disclosure requirements
The AICPA issued a new Technical Question and Answer to provide nonauthoritative guidance regarding the audit implications of a new related-party disclosure requirement for institutions that participate in the financial assistance programs of the Higher Education Act.
PCAOB tightens liability standard
The board took three actions to update auditing standards and procedures, including the adoption of a change to an almost 20-year-old rule that tightens the standard of liability to “negligent” from “reckless” for an associated person who contributes to a firm’s violations.
Quality management: Details of a standard-setting journey
The chair of the AICPA Auditing Standards Board joins the JofA podcast to provide updates on quality management standards and explain why Dec. 15, 2025, is an important date. Listen to the episode or read the Q&A.
AICPA updates practice aid for digital assets
The practice aid for accounting for and auditing of digital assets has new guidance on auditing the valuation of digital assets along with auditing procedures regarding their existence, rights, and obligations.
How auditors can apply a forensic-like approach to fraud
Professionals with forensic and fraud expertise share techniques auditors can use when completing AU-C Section 240 requirements.
A&A Focus recap: CECL, leases, and commercial real estate
The May installment of the monthly newscast series also featured a governmental auditing update.
New SSAE caps standards related to quality management
The statement offers new definitions of “other practitioner” and completes the suite of standards that firms performing A&A services are required to use to design and implement a QM system by Dec. 15, 2025, and to perform A&A services in accordance with for engagements beginning on or after that date.
PCAOB updates general auditor responsibilities, quality control rules
PCAOB updates general auditor responsibilities, quality control rules
AS 1000, General Responsibilities of the Auditor in Conducting an Audit, replaces AICPA-provided standards, and QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, considers the AICPA’s new quality management standards.
Auditor resource: Considerations for commercial real estate
A PCAOB staff report considers the changing world of commercial real estate, offering advice for public company auditors that also applies to auditors outside of the PCAOB’s purview.
Root cause analysis: Auditor tool gaining traction on multiple fronts
A new PCAOB report highlights how audit quality can be improved by root cause analysis — an approach the federal board eventually could require and one addressed in new AICPA quality management system standards.
A&A Focus recap: A&A risk, not-for-profit update, SQMS, and ERC
The April installment of the monthly newscast series covered topics ranging from current practitioner risks and the quality management standards to ERC considerations and a not-for-profit industry update.
PCAOB proposals call for firms to disclose more about themselves
The proposals, open for public comment through June 7, cover 11 firm and engagement metrics as well as new annual and special reporting requirements in five key areas.
Managing change in audit technology transformation
Constant change can be exhausting. To transform their audit technology despite change fatigue, firms can follow these tried-and-true suggestions.
A&A Focus recap: Lease challenges, SAS 145, and fraud
The March installment of the monthly newscast series covered topics ranging from year 2 lease accounting issues and commercial real estate risks to SAS No. 145 updates for auditors and fraud risks during audits.
4 things CPAs need to know about SEC climate rule
Now is the time to begin preparing for new reporting and attestation requirements. A summary of the 886-page rule by the AICPA and the Center for Audit Quality is a good place to start.
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