Recognizing external audit is only one element within the broader financial reporting ecosystem, the auditor’s role in relation to fraud and going concern in financial statement audits continues to receive heightened public attention, amplified by high-profile corporate failures around the globe in recent years. Global discussions have also continued on the role auditor reporting plays in the external reporting ecosystem.

Given these global discussions and related differences between public perception and the role of the auditor, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is probing these issues in a high-level virtual roundtable. The discussions will:

  • Consider the “expectation gap” with regards to fraud and going concern, which includes (among others) the knowledge, performance, and evolution gaps;
  • Stimulate discussions with stakeholders to better understand expectations for auditors in relation to fraud and going concern in financial statement audits, and explore how this “expectation gap” may be narrowed; and
  • Gather stakeholder views on the implementation of the IAASB’s news and revised auditor reporting standards, including how practical challenges and concerns are being addressed and whether there is global demand for additional information in the auditor’s report to improve transparency.

The IAASB invites you to listen in on the roundtable discussion September 28 at 7:00 am EDT live streaming on YouTube. The discussion will help the IAASB determine appropriate responses to global conversations and the direction of future projects. It will also feed into the IAASB’s post-implementation review of the auditor reporting standards released in 2016, which includes the currently-open auditor reporting survey for stakeholders. Stakeholders who are interested in these issues are encouraged to respond to the survey as well as read the IAASB’s Discussion Paper, Fraud and Going Concern in an Audit of Financial Statements: Exploring the Differences Between Public Perceptions About the Role of the Auditor and the Auditor’s Responsibilities in a Financial Statement Audit.

Moderated by IAASB Deputy Chair Fiona Campbell, the September 28 roundtable will address, among other topics:

  • The main causes of differences between public perception and auditor’s responsibilities with regard to fraud and going concern in audits of financial statements
  • What can be done across the external reporting ecosystem to address these differences
  • New auditor’s reports, including Key Audit Matters (KAM) and if the IAASB standards issues in 2016 have increased confidence in audit quality

Roundtable participants include governance experts, corporate directors, academics, auditors and audit profession leaders, audit regulators, and representatives from banking, investor, and ratings groups.

We hope you are able to listen in to the group sessions on YouTube. We will also post the full sessions, including breakout small group discussion we aren’t able to live stream, online following the event—follow us on Twitter and YouTube or register/subscribe for updates and announcements.

Roundtable Agenda
September 28, 2020, 8:15-8:45 am EDT and 9:30-10:00 am EDT
IAASB YouTube

8:15 am

First Breakout Session Debrief, Welcome to Online Viewers, and Roundtable Participant Discussion on Key Points
Moderator: Fiona Campbell

8:45-9:30 am

Break for YouTube viewers
Roundtable participants will join small group breakout sessions that we are not able to air live. Breakout sessions will be recorded and posted on the IAASB website.

9:30 am

Second Breakout Session Debrief and Roundtable Participant Discussion on Key Points
Moderator: Fiona Campbell

9:55 am

Closing Remarks
Tom Seidenstein, IAASB Chair

The roundtable is the second in a series of three planned virtual roundtables to explore issues and challenges related to fraud through discussions with experts and leaders. Save the date for the final IAASB roundtable in this series: 

October 7, 2020
7:00-9:30 am EDT

Unique Aspects of Fraud in Audits of Less Complex Entities
Angela Donnelly

IAASB Staff Fellow

Angela Donnelly is a Staff Fellow at the IAASB. Prior to that, she was a director in PwC’s National Quality Organization and provided advice on technical accounting issues, including lease accounting, derivative and hedge accounting, and financing transactions. Up until then, she managed and performed financial statement audits, primarily serving Banking and Capital Markets clients.

Beverley Bahlmann

Beverley Bahlmann is a former director at the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (2011-2022) working on a variety of projects, including the fraud, going concern, and audits of less complex entities. Previously, Ms. Bahlmann worked for 15 years in a technical and training role in audit firms in Australia, the UK and South Africa. She is a member of the Australian and South African Institutes of Chartered Accountants. 

Follow Beverley on LinkedIn

Megan Hartman

Megan Hartman is a principal on the Communications team. She joined the team in 2011 after working with a number of international organizations, primarily in the not-for-profit sector. Megan holds a master’s in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University as well as a bachelor’s from George Washington University.