Surgent's Focus on Engagement Quality: How to Avoid Deficiencies in Peer Reviews

Overview

With the AICPA's heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor's overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of an audit such as the auditor's assessment of risk and linking the results of the assessment to substantive procedures performed. In addition, auditors are not adequately documenting their consideration of fraud, expectations in analytical procedures and the appropriate level of work needed to understand an entity's internal control. Now is time to revisit the way that auditors are performing and documenting the work performed to meet professional standards since nonconforming engagements can result in an auditor's referral to the AICPA Ethics Committee. There have not been significant changes to quality control standards since 2006. In June 2022, two new statements on quality management were issued. Another statement was issued recently to incorporate the changes to the Group Audit Standard (SAS 149). A related audit standard on engagement quality, SAS 146 and an accounting and review service standard, SSARS 26, were also issued. These changes are substantive. They are effective for years beginning after December 15, 2025. This course will also focus on the most significant items resulting in deficiencies identified in the peer review process. We will also discuss the applicable audit standards, documentation requirements and best practices. We will specifically look at the issues related to the peer review "must select" audit areas: Government Auditing Standards and Single Audit and Employee Benefit Plans. Finally, we will discuss issues in compilations and reviews as well as disclosure deficiencies noted by peer reviewers. The objective of the course is to provide the insights necessary to help auditors and accountants improve not just the quality of their work but also the perception of the accounting profession as a whole.