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PCAOB to consider new rules for auditing related-party transactions

The PCAOB will meet Tuesday to consider adopting rules that would create new audit procedures that an auditor should perform when examining a company’s transactions with related parties or significant unusual transactions. Board members have sought comment twice on related-party proposals and are considering a standard and amendments to PCAOB

Highlights of ethics research

The authors distill research published in tax and accounting journals of interest to busy practitioners. This article focuses on academic research in ethics.

GASB pension reporting: How to obtain and audit key numbers

State and local government employers who participate in multiple-employer defined benefit pension plans—and the governments’ auditors—may have difficulty obtaining data required by GASB’s new pension standards to prepare employer financial statements and auditing such information. GASB Statement No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, provides revised guidance for the financial

Mandatory audit firm rotation rules published in EU

A mandatory audit firm rotation requirement and other audit market reforms have formally became part of European Union law. Rules published Tuesday in the Official Journal of the European Union—the authoritative source of EU law—include: A requirement that public interest entities—which include listed companies, banks, and insurance companies—change auditors after

Proposed peer review change would remove inconsistencies for engagement reviews

Changes to peer review standards proposed last week by the AICPA Peer Review Board (PRB) are designed to remove inconsistencies and improve the transparency of reports for engagement reviews. The proposal, outlined in an exposure draft, would change the impact to an engagement review report when all of the following

Firm mobility and updated definition of attest included in updated UAA

Changes in the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) announced Tuesday will update the definition of attest and allow for CPA firm mobility across state borders. The boards of the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have approved the changes to the UAA. While the UAA is

Proposed IAASB standard seeks to clarify expectations for auditing disclosures

Changes to international auditing standards proposed last week by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) are designed to clarify expectations of auditors when auditing financial statement disclosures. One of the key areas addressed in the proposals is attention earlier in the audit process to disclosures, including those where

New two-phased approach designed to reinforce audit quality

In a time of technological innovation, business complexity, and regulatory scrutiny, auditors face a multitude of challenges. Auditors are expanding services at the same time that regulators are considering ways to make the information in the auditor’s report even more relevant for investors. To serve the public in this time

New regulations mean big changes for brokers and dealers—and their auditors

New regulations that take effect June 1 will lead to significant changes for brokers and dealers, futures commission merchants, and their auditors, the AICPA and the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) said Monday. Auditors should discuss the changes with their broker and dealer and futures commission merchant clients as soon

PCAOB asks for additional comments on standards reorganization

The PCAOB is asking for additional comment on its proposal for reorganizing the board’s auditing standards. The framework would reorganize the existing PCAOB-issued and interim auditing standards by topic with a single numbering system. The original comment period for the proposal ended May 28, 2013. Along with a supplemental request

IAASB reconsiders auditors’ “other information” duties

A new International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) reproposal is intended to clarify and strengthen auditors’ responsibilities related to “other information” that is included in organizations’ annual reports outside the audited financial statements. The reproposed International Standard on Auditing 720 (Revised), The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information, would

CAQ proposes an approach to communicating audit quality indicators

The set of potential audit quality indicators proposed by the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) on Thursday is the result of a focused effort to find objective measurements for audit work. The CAQ paper is the culmination of a two-year effort with the CAQ’s member firms to develop perspectives regarding

New TPAs address changes to reports arising from PCC VIE alternative

New nonauthoritative guidance issued by the AICPA addresses changes to accountants’ or auditors’ reports when a client adopts a new Private Company Council (PCC) alternative that results in a change to a previously issued report. Private company clients can elect not to apply variable-interest entity guidance to certain common-control leasing

ASB interpretations address GASB pension issues

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued three auditing interpretations to help address some of the numerous accounting and auditing issues that are facing governmental cost-sharing multiple-employer pension plans and the government employers that participate in them. The interpretations are intended to help auditors of governmental cost-sharing plans and participating

Regulators suggest firms take deep dive into audit quality

While acknowledging that auditors are under unprecedented scrutiny, an international association of audit regulators is asking audit firms to analyze causes of problems in audits globally in hopes of finding remedies. Lewis Ferguson, chair of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), said he believes audit quality has improved

EU audit firm rotation clears another hurdle

Mandatory audit firm rotation cleared another hurdle in the European Union on Thursday when the European Parliament endorsed proposed new audit regulations. Under the draft agreement, public-interest entities—which include listed companies, banks, and insurance companies—will be allowed to keep the same auditor for up to 10 years. That period could

How would auditors’ reporting affect “other information”?

Reporting on information outside the audited financial statements could empower auditors and educate investors, but it could also reduce useful disclosures from management, experts told the PCAOB on Thursday. During the second of two days of public hearings on the PCAOB’s auditor’s reporting model proposal, panelists debated the merits of

PCAOB trying to help auditors find their voice

Auditing standard setters are trying to find a way for auditors to communicate with investors but are struggling to find the proper mechanism. During the first of two days of public hearings on the PCAOB’s proposal for changing the auditor’s reporting model, a handful of panelists said Wednesday that the

Embracing the automated audit

Technology is changing the way audits are being performed, with greater access to data but also more data to sort through. Auditors can remain efficient and effective by employing applications designed to help automate some procedures.

Alignment is key for internal audit to deliver more value

The demands on internal audit have increased significantly in recent years as technology has advanced, regulation has become more rigorous, risks have emerged, and companies have sought more business insights from internal audit teams. “That bar continues to rise,” FedEx Chief Audit Executive Robert King, CPA, said Tuesday during a

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