Annual return and monitoring

All firms registered for audit with ICAEW are required to complete an annual return. The Quality Assurance Department (QAD) conducts monitoring visits to firms registered for audit with ICAEW.

Your audit monitoring visit is designed to focus on your firm’s procedures, processes and controls to make sure that audits comply with professional standards and your firm meets the requirements of the audit regulations.

During a visit, we assess and comment on the quality of audit work performed by your firm. Our monitoring visits contribute to ICAEW’s objective of maintaining the highest standards among our member firms.

All ICAEW registered auditors are included in the scope of the QAD’s audit monitoring. Since April 2004, the Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) of the Financial Reporting Council has been responsible for monitoring all listed and certain other public interest audits. QAD is responsible for monitoring all other statutory audits conducted by ICAEW registered firms on a six-year cycle. Firms with listed clients are selected on a three-year cycle and we visit the largest audit firms every year. Our booklet ‘Audit – monitoring visits’ explains the visit process in detail.

Both the Audit Inspection Unit and the QAD report their visit results and finding to ICAEW's Audit Registration Committee.

If your firm is within the scope of Practice Assurance (PA), the visit may also include a review of how the firm meets the principles-based PA standards. Our booklet, 'Practice Assurance and DPB visit' explains the visit process in detail.