ICAEW’s Quality Assurance Department will present a series of webinars in 2025 which will expand on the report findings. Each webinar has a different focus. Most auditors should find valuable content in all of the sessions, whether it’s directly relevant to the activities of your firm or contributes to a wider understanding of issues across UK audit practices.
Our role as the UK’s largest recognised supervisory body for non-Public Interest Entity (PIE) audits continues to focus on improvement-led regulation, helping firms enhance audit quality in the public interest.
2024 monitoring results
- 401 audit monitoring reviews completed
- 67% of 790 audits reviewed were good or generally acceptable
- 10% required significant improvement
- Among Big Four firms, 90% of audits were good or generally acceptable
We’ll continue to support our firms to help them build and maintain high standards.
Common weaknesses
The report highlights the following areas where our reviewers have identified there is room for improvement. It summarises some of the common issues we see and also identifies useful ICAEW resources to support learnings in these areas:
- Risk assessment
- Fraud and error
- Estimates and judgements
- Experts and service organisations
- Substantive analytical procedures
- Sampling
ISQM 1: Embedding quality management
Firms have invested considerable time and resources to enhance their whole firm procedures, moving to a system of quality management as required by ISQM 1. It is a scalable standard, and we have developed a scaled monitoring approach.
Where auditors have engaged with the scalability of the standard many are positive about the new requirements and their impact on the culture of audit quality within their firm.
Spotlight on smaller firms
Small audit firms play a big part in providing access to audit services to many small corporates, local charities and co-operative and community benefit societies across the UK. Their continued presence and success in the audit market is very important, but of course they must maintain audit quality supported by appropriate quality management procedures in order to serve the public interest.
Four case studies within the report reveal contrasting outcomes depending on how smaller firms engage with quality standards:
- Good outcomes where ISQM 1 and training are embraced
- Regulatory action where review gaps and lack of CPD are evident
- Success stories from sole practitioners who invested in tailored reviews and proactive training
