Employee benefit plan audits require specialized training and present significant regulatory risk. Following certain best practices can help practitioners deliver high-quality audits.
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TOPICS / AUDIT & ASSURANCE
Audit
Can auditors expand assurance to meet investors’ needs?
Joe Ucuzoglu, CPA, chairman and CEO of Deloitte’s U.S. audit practice, says expanding assurance opportunities would increase the value auditors provide.
A 6-point plan to improve audit quality
A new six-point plan released by the AICPA provides a road map for enhanced performance on audits of private companies, employee benefit plans, and governmental entities.
PCAOB seeks feedback on new idea for identifying engagement partner
The PCAOB voted to seek public comment regarding a proposal for naming the engagement partner in public company audits, in addition to identifying other firms that contribute to the audit.
PCAOB schedules open meeting on naming audit engagement partners
The PCAOB has scheduled a public meeting to consider seeking public comment on a new proposal for naming audit engagement partners.
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.
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.
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.
5 ways to overcome confirmation bias
Following this five-step process can help auditors avoid a common psychological trap and the risk that they will overlook important contradictory evidence.
I’m not biased, am I?
Five common judgment biases can have a negative impact on accounting and auditing decisions. Learn how to spot these biases, and take a short quiz to see how they can affect your judgment.
New IAASB standard changes auditor’s reporting model
A new standard released by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board changes rules about how auditors will communicate about their work in their reports.
Evolving practice monitoring to improve quality in A&A engagements
In a new concept of practice monitoring the AICPA envisions for the future, peer reviewers and firms will use a new technology platform to enable more thorough analysis and provide more timely feedback for accounting, auditing and attestation engagements.
7 risk areas for the 2014 audit cycle
Revenue recognition and internal control over financial reporting are among the key risk factors in the 2014 audit cycle, according to an alert by the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). The alert details seven key areas of potential risk in auditors’ work.
PCAOB may soon require naming of engagement partner
PCAOB Chairman James Doty hopes the board will complete a standard early next year that will require the naming of the engagement partner and other firms participating in U.S. public company audits.
Auditors still responsible for going-concern evaluation under PCAOB rules
Recent changes to U.S. GAAP do not change public company auditors’ responsibilities for following existing PCAOB standards when considering a company’s ability to continue as a going concern, the PCAOB said Monday. In a staff audit practice alert, the PCAOB said current auditing requirements remain in force in light of
ASB proposes moving content of AT Section 501 into GAAS
The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is proposing moving a section of its attestation standards into generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). Engagements performed under existing AT Section 501, An Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Its Financial Statements, as well
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