High-quality audits are the backbone of the global financial system. Each year, thousands of audits – including over 40,000 audits of public listed companies – make organizations more transparent and trustworthy, help attract investor capital, help secure jobs, and help economies thrive.
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the global accountancy profession are committed to continuous improvement and recognize the negative consequences of any audit failure. As audit reviews unfold in various national jurisdictions, IFAC is setting out its recommendations for achieving high-quality audits.
“Audits contribute meaningfully to the functioning of organizations, financial markets, and economies. While many thousands of audits are conducted each year without any issues, improvements are needed to ensure consistent high quality,” said IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey. “This, however, cannot be achieved in a vacuum – all participants in the audit and assurance ecosystem must work together in striving to achieve high-quality audits 100% of the time. It is a vital part of our profession’s public interest mandate.”
In order to achieve high-quality audits, IFAC identifies five essential factors: the right process, the right people, the right governance, the right regulation, and the right measurement.
IFAC calls on all participants to create an environment that consistently produces high-quality audits. In particular, firms, Professional Accountancy Organizations (PAOs), regulators, audit committees and audit/assurance professionals must work to:
- Approach audits as a value-added service; not as a compliance exercise
- Evolve new assurance services to meet the needs of all stakeholders
- Continue focus on enhancing skills and competencies, adhering to fundamental ethical principles
- Ensure diversity in hiring practices
- Enhance transparency and communication from audit committees, firms, and PAOs
- Adopt a prudential and evidence-based approach to regulation
“As the global voice of the accounting profession, IFAC works in the public interest and focuses on the role of professional accountants in audit and assurance—but always, and necessarily, as partners in a larger ecosystem striving for better outcomes,” said Dancey. “We call on regulators and PAOs to collect, analyze, and publish more and better data—both aggregate and granular—on audit quality with the goal of enhancing transparency and promoting higher audit quality.”
About IFAC
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.