ICAEW’s training films aim to provoke discussion, challenge mindsets, encourage new perspectives and provide insights into the key challenges facing the profession. For Kreston Reeves, Crossing the Line’s combination of convincing storylines, realistic dilemmas, and in-depth technical content did just that.

“The film is compelling,” explains Graham. “It really holds your attention, and the subject matter is well placed, even for our junior members, so it reaches the whole breadth of our audit teams.

“We get to see all the live issues audit firms are grappling with,” he adds. “The previous films were very good, but the level of technical complexity in this one is a step up again.”

Crossing the Line is the fourth film in ICAEW’s award-winning series, written by Duncan Wiggetts, ICAEW’s Chief Officer, Professional Standards. It focuses on two audit teams working on the accounts of fast-growing listed software company Xoltic and struggling football club Scarbridge FC, which Xoltic’s CEO has recently acquired.

Following the audit teams as they navigate the complexities of signing off the accounts, the film brings to life key issues such as integrity, audit independence, and maintaining professionalism under pressure.

A valuable approach to training

Kreston Reeves screened the film at one of its twice-yearly Audit Quality Workshop awaydays, where the firm’s whole audit practice gets together in person. “Having the video content is incredibly valuable as a way of approaching training,” says Graham. “It gives us something a bit different, rather than the usual format of slides and exercises.”

During a three-and-a-half-hour session, the 150-strong audience watched the film in sections, stopping at the built-in pause points to reflect on what they’d seen. Invited to join the session as a guest speaker, Duncan Wiggetts, Crossing the Line’s writer, introduced the session and guided the discussions, helping participants to unpack the issues raised and the dilemmas faced by the key characters. Kreston Reeves’ Senior Partner and Head of Global, Andrew Griggs, rounded off the workshop by adding his own reflections on the film’s themes.

People were seated in tables of 10 for the discussions. “There was a mix of people at each table,” says Graham. “We split up our Responsible Individuals (RIs) and managers, so there was at least one on each table. Then we had a mix of grades, office locations and experience on the tables to balance up the different skills in each discussion.”

The round table discussions were based on questions in the film’s facilitator’s guide, provided by ICAEW. “We reviewed the user guide in advance of the day,” Graham explains. “And we picked the questions or sub-questions that were most relevant to us, bearing in mind our time allocation didn't allow us to cover everything.”

In addition to the main screening, the firm later held a catch-up session for members of the audit practice who couldn’t make it on the day. This time, people logged on to a two-hour online session. “We were able to run the session virtually though found the in-person delivery to be more impactful” says Graham.

Standout moments

Feedback from the session was very positive. “People did really enjoy it,” says Graham. “I think they appreciated the digital format and found it quite compelling as a movie.”

Given the degree of technical content that needed to be packed in, the film’s length worked well for the audience. “Because it was absorbing, and broken up into parts, an hour was about right,” explains Graham. Using the world of football as a backdrop, including the club training scenes, also helped keep people engaged. “Even our junior members – some of whom may only have been with us for a week or two out of university – were really engaged by the content and were able to contribute to discussions,” he stresses.

For him, the standout moments in the film are where characters are challenging their RIs and managers. “There’s one discussion during the football club audit where, despite the RI being more client-centric, you really see the challenge coming from the manager and junior on that team,” he says. When the audience was later asked to choose which of the characters they’d like to have in their own audit team, quite a few respondents chose this particular audit manager or junior because of this ability to challenge.

“We also see a really good challenge of the RI by the Engagement Quality Reviewer (EQR) in the film,” Graham adds. “Quite a few people commented on the fact that he portrayed a good EQR. EQRs are a vital part of a firm’s system of quality management, and the example shown in the film demonstrating what good looks like from an EQR was valuable.”

Something else he found useful was the thread running through the film where the audience gets a ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse of the conversations clients are having between themselves. “In the film, we get to be a ‘fly on the wall’ for closed-doors discussions between members of the management team, which allows us to contrast the picture presented to the auditors and the business reality. It pushes us to reflect on the discussions held with our own clients and whether we’ve sufficiently challenged the narratives presented to us.”

A starting point for a deeper journey

Graham hopes the workshop session will act as a launch point for further discussions on some of the dilemmas and themes raised in Crossing the Line.

“The topics covered by the film are key issues experienced across the profession.,” he explains. “So having those conversations together on the day was highly relevant and provided a segue into delving further into matters of professional judgement and scepticism.”

• More about Kreston Reeves

Resources

• Find out more about Crossing the Line and watch the trailer
• Take a look behind the scenes with the film’s writer Duncan Wiggetts
• Check out more ICAEW films in our award-winning series
• How Crossing the Line is being used