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Audit

The audit area has information and guidance on completing all stages of an audit as well as making the decision around whether or not an audit is required. There are links to technical help, webinars, publications and events as well as audit representations.

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Need to know

Changes to UK audit rules from 1 October 2024
  • Article
Everything you need to know about the forthcoming updates to the UK Audit Regulations related to eligibility and ICAEW’s consultation on audit notification, as well as a roadmap of further changes coming in 2025.
Guide to the auditing implications of the war in Ukraine
  • Helpsheets and support
The situation in Ukraine is changing daily, as is the reaction by the UK government and international community. We take a look at some of the key considerations for auditors.
Using tech to enhance audit
  • Article
The rate of technology adoption has accelerated during and post-pandemic as firms have engaged with new ways of working. How are these ever-changing tools reshaping audit?

Latest developments in audit

Guidance and support from Audit and Beyond and the Audit and Assurance Faculty's technical news in brief.
Exclusive Sustainability assurance: bracing for the future
  • Video
  • 12 Jul 2024
Delegates and speakers at the 2024 Audit and Assurance Faculty Conference are gearing up to meet the growing need and demand for sustainability assurance services. Let’s explore what’s on their minds.
Exclusive Making sense of sampling: Your questions answered
  • Article
  • 12 Jul 2024
Sampling, cap sizes and substantive analytical procedures are hot topics for many auditors. Peter Herbert from Insight Training considers some of your key concerns.
Exclusive Why Audit? Because we’re guardians of financial truth
  • Article
  • 12 Jul 2024
Louise Hallsworth, Audit Partner at Baxter & Co, talks about why she chose a career in audit and why, after a few twists and turns, she decided to stay there.
Exclusive Why ethics and sustainability go hand in hand
  • Video
  • 12 Jul 2024
IESBA Board Member Mark Babington talks to ICAEW about the relevance and importance of ethics when it comes to sustainability reporting and assurance.
Exclusive Engagement quality review for smaller practices
  • Article
  • 12 Jul 2024
All audit firms need policies and procedures for ISQM 2 engagement quality reviews. The Audit and Assurance faculty offers some reminders on the requirements and practical pointers for smaller firms on addressing these requirements for audit engagements.
Exclusive Understanding the group’s use of IT
  • Article
  • 12 Jul 2024
Understanding the use of IT can create headaches for group and component auditors. Andrew Paul considers some practical issues and ways to address them.
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Appointment and engagement terms

Exclusive Remote auditing - administration
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) resulted in the rapid adoption of remote working, including remote auditing techniques. This extract from the Audit and Assurance Faculty Know-How guide 'Remote auditing in practice' focuses on audit administration.
Engagement letters and privacy notices
  • Helpsheets and support
ICAEW has developed guidance for practice firms on what to include in engagement letters. This page provides a series of sample wordings to help you draft your own engagement letters.
Exclusive Agreeing the terms of audit engagements
  • Helpsheets and support
ISA 210 sets out the requirements for agreeing audit engagement terms. This guide looks at the requirements and highlights potential implementation challenges for auditors.
Exclusive The importance of achieving audit objectives
  • Helpsheets and support
ISA 200 highlights the importance of objectives in auditing standards. Understanding ISA 200 is fundamental to understanding the challenge of implementing ISAs. This guide seeks to help auditors understand the overall objectives of the auditor and how they relate to the individual objectives and requirements in ISAs, and the role of professional judgement and scepticism.
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Audit exemption

Audit exemption eligibility
  • Article
Learn whether your organisation qualified for audit exemption for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016, under the Companies Act 2006 as amended by SI 2015/980. ICAEW's Technical Advisory Service provides guidance covering: group eligibility; eligibility of UK subsidiaries; and audit exemption conditions.
Filing requirements for audit-exempt organisations
  • Listing
Read about preparing financial statements for audit-exempt organisations, including filing requirements
Alternative services for audit-exempt organisations
  • Helpsheets and support
Learn more about other services and forms of assurance that may be of benefit to audit-exempt organisations.
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Audit reform

ICAEW’s Audit and Assurance Faculty unpacks the UK government proposed measures to restore trust in governance, reporting and auditing.

Influencing policy to support you: August 2024
  • Article
  • 28 Aug 2024
Parliament may be in recess, but ICAEW remains busy preparing for the launch of new legislation on audit reform, the Budget and the political party conference season.
Corporates hold true to Wates Principles in governance reports
  • Article
  • 22 Aug 2024
Voluntary code continues to be the most popular framework among larger companies for providing guidance on corporate governance reporting, according to FRC research.
FRC rolls out interim shakeup to Stewardship Code
  • Article
  • 02 Aug 2024
Amid ongoing review of Code, watchdog streamlines reporting burden to show it has been listening to stakeholders – and unveils five themes that will drive the rest of the revamp.
The government can see the economic sense of audit reform
  • Article
  • 18 Jul 2024
King’s speech: the government has listened to ICAEW and other professional bodies on audit and corporate governance reform. ICAEW CEO Alan Vallance explains why this is such a positive step.
Audit reform, local audit and business rates: ICAEW’s priorities for Labour
  • Article
  • 05 Jul 2024
With a clear mandate to govern, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party must take swift action to encourage growth and investment, says ICAEW.
Attesting time for financial services
  • Article
  • 28 Jun 2024
The new Corporate Governance Code attestation requirement on banks and insurers shines a spotlight on their internal controls. ICAEW’s Financial Services Faculty explains some of the practical implications
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Auditing accounting estimates

How are accounting estimates picked up in risk assessments?
  • Article
Understanding the entity, its environment and internal controls.
Exclusive Inherent risk factors in auditing accounting estimates
  • Helpsheets and support
What are they and how might they influence your audit of accounting estimates.
The spectrum of inherent risk
  • Article
Understanding the new concept and how this can be applied.
Exclusive Determining high estimation uncertainty and significant risk
  • Helpsheets and support
How to identify whether any risks of material misstatement identified give rise to significant risks.
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See the Faculty's latest webinars, technical releases and publications

As a member of the Audit and Assurance Faculty, you have access to a range of exclusive guidance and support. This includes:

  • Audit and Beyond Events
  • Technical releases
  • Thought leadership
  • Webinars
View all publications and events
ICAEW's Audit and Assurance Faculty can help you stay ahead of the curve with its essential guidance and technical advice.

Group audits

Guide to the impact of the war in Ukraine on group auditors
  • Helpsheets and support
This guide explores issues faced by UK group auditors with overseas component auditors in light of the Ukraine conflict.
Auditing groups of companies Group financial statements presents challenges to both group and component auditors.
Audit & Beyond archive
  • Hub page
Providing valuable content, best practice and topical issues within the profession.
Preparing an audit report for a group - combined audit report for the group and parent company
  • Helpsheets and support
This guide is designed to explain the main changes that are needed to the audit report of a group compared to that of a company only.
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Professional scepticism and judgement

Professional judgement ICAEW brings together a range of resources on professional judgement to help you develop your skills in approaching difficult judgements.
Exclusive Scepticism and judgement: overcoming impediments
  • Article
Identifying and addressing barriers to the exercise of professional scepticism and judgement can enhance audit quality. Simon Kettlewell shares his tips.
Exclusive Intuitive judgements and how to improve them
  • Article
Tips from auditors and regulators on understanding, managing and mitigating biases that may hinder objective reasoning.
Exclusive Scepticism and challenge
  • Article
All auditors want to apply professional judgement with scepticism and appropriate management challenge, but which key attributes and elements should be the focus of this never-ending quest?
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Quality management

Countdown to ISQM 1 – is your practice ready?
  • Podcast
In this Insights In Focus special episode, we discuss the rollout of the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) and what firms need to do before ISQM 1 is implemented on 15 December 2022.
ISQM 1 implementation deadline draws near
  • Article
Not started yet or in need of further help? Don’t despair, ICAEW shares key resources for small practitioners on ISQM implementation to get you on your way.
Overview of standards
  • Helpsheets and support
Key changes, effective date and overview of the Quality Management Standards.
Getting started with ISQM 1
  • Helpsheets and support
Steps firms can take now on their quality management journey.
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Supporting audit quality

Guidance and support for auditors and practices on conducting audits, covering:

  • taking on audits;
  • planning and performing audits;
  • completing audits; and
  • standards and regulations.
View all resources
ICAEW's Library and Information Services can help you find the information you are looking for

Reporting and completion

How to report on irregularities, including fraud, in the auditor’s report – a guide for auditors
  • Helpsheets and support
This Know-How guide from ICAEW’s Audit and Assurance Faculty covers what irregularities are, how the requirements have changed in ISA (UK) 700 (Revised January 2020), what should be reported on in the auditor’s report, and how COVID-19 may impact what is reported.
Reporting and completion
  • Listing
Access practical resources on auditor reporting and completion to help understand auditors’ responsibilities in this area and the requirements of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). These resources include practical guides and articles on audit reports, and other helpsheets to help deal with the challenges that may arise.
Using an electronic signature to sign an audit report
  • Helpsheets and support
This guide was developed by the Audit and Assurance Faculty with the Business Law Department in July 2020 and is based on the relevant laws and regulations that apply as at 1 July 2020.
Exclusive Reporting in an ISA audit
  • Helpsheets and support
IAASB issued a suite of revised and new auditor reporting standards (ISAs) addressing the audits of complete sets of general purpose financial statements in 2015. The changes mainly focus on increasing transparency about the audit performed. This guide outlines the key requirements for auditors.
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Risk assessment, internal control and response to risks in external audit

Introducing the new risk assessment ISA for 2022 audits
  • Article
14 January 2020: the IAASB has issued ISA 315 (Revised 2019) Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement.
The auditor’s risk assessment and response: understanding and applying the requirements
  • Article
International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 315 (Revised) Identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement through understanding the entity and its environment explains auditors’ responsibilities in relation to risk assessment and internal control.
Materiality in the audit of financial statements
  • Helpsheets and support
Applying the materiality requirements in International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) can be challenging. As highlighted in inspection findings, reviews and from experience in practice, it’s an area where improvement could be made.
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Technology and audit

Exclusive Databases, Data Warehouses and Data Lakes for Accountants
  • Article
  • 17 Jul 2024
Accountants today rely on software like Oracle, Sage, Excel, and many other technologies to store important data and help generate financial statements and insights. This article provides a high-level overview of different data infrastructure used in accounting and how these fit into contemporary technology such as PowerBI, PowerPivot, Excel, APIs.
AI ‘will turbocharge cybercrime and fraud’
  • Article
  • 26 Jun 2024
Chief internal auditors are worried that AI is likely to fuel a surge in cyber, fraud and economic crime, according to a new poll.
Over-reliance on automation: a cautionary tale from Plato
  • Article
  • 27 May 2024
The dangers of too much tech are not a new concern – Konrad Bukowski-Kruszyna explains why accountants can take a sceptical cue from the ancient Greeks when it comes to AI.
How auditors can meet the client tech challenge
  • Article
  • 22 May 2024
Understanding how clients’ tech systems are operating is vital due to the demands of the revised ISA 315, but there are many strategies and tools that can help.
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Data Analytics Certificate

Sign up to the ICAEW Data Analytics Certificate, learn how to provide powerful audit insights to identify anomalies, accounting and control overrides.

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