Audit

16 October 2020: The Financial Reporting Council’s Jon Thompson spoke about the drivers for and progress in audit reform, the attractiveness of the profession and the challenges of COVID-19.

Helping you with the urgent pressures being faced in the forthcoming reporting season: accounting and auditing.

9 March 2020: as more amendments are made to law which affect its availability, we clarify how Brexit has affected audit exemption by parent guarantee.

This time John looks at Brexit-related issues and discovers that it can be a dangerous territory.

Brexit-related disclosures in annual reports and accounts from some of the largest UK companies may be helpful to smaller audit entities and firms.

Brexit is already raising numerous questions for and from auditors. In this edition, John gets the ball rolling by tackling what is surely the first of many questions.

This page presents an overview of instructions and guidance for small practices to prepare during the transition period following Brexit.

Guidance issued prior to Brexit by ICAEW on audit regulation largely addressed the potential need for immediate action should withdrawal occur with no agreement, a no-deal Brexit. As a withdrawal agreement has been signed, the steps identified as part of a no-deal do not apply on 1 February 2020, but potentially will still come into force on 31 December 2020. This applies to arrangements both in the UK and Ireland.

BEIS and the FRC have issued on 22 February 2019 five documents that set out the necessary steps all audit firms (large and small) should undertake to prepare for Brexit including no-deal outcomes.

Auditors of UK companies (ie, companies incorporated in the UK) with listings on the Irish Stock Exchange, (such as listed debt), will be required to register with IAASA as third country auditors at the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) unless their registration continues to be accepted on the Irish audit register.

This guide outlines some considerations to help banks and others, including auditors and internal auditors, approach the challenges that have arisen from the introduction of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and Brexit’s potential impact on this.

Auditors will need to consider how Brexit-related risks could impact on the firms they’re auditing. Our guide provides a framework for that analysis.

As a pervasive issue affecting many businesses, it is important that firms develop a consistent approach to Brexit. This guide provides some tips to help you do that.

ICAEW’s audit-related Brexit Guidance is intended to help auditors of SMEs deal with current Brexit-related uncertainties associated with a potential no-deal exit as they affect 31 December 2018 and 31 March 2019 audits.