This page pulls together existing faculty guides, articles and webinars with a view to supplementing guidance for SME audits following the withdrawal by the FRC of Practice Note 26 on smaller entity documentation.
Policy
Less Complex Entity audits
- 08 Oct 2021
- ICAEW Insights
Sophie Campkin, ICAEW’s Technical Lead, Audit and Assurance, is joined by a panel of experts to discuss Less Complex Entity (LCE) audits.
INSIGHTS VIEWPOINT
Less complex entities: ICAEW salutes IAASB’s initiative
- Article
- 29 Jul 2021
- ICAEW Insights
ICAEW welcomes the issue of a draft standard for the audit of less complex entities by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board as a move in the right direction.
Support SME audits with new standard for less complex entities
- Article
- 15 Jun 2020
- ICAEW
ICAEW has added its voice to renewed calls for a separate auditing standard for ‘less complex’ entities ahead of a crucial meeting of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board to decide on the issue.
INSIGHTS VIEWPOINT
ICAEW calls for action on new LCE audit standard
- Article
- 11 Dec 2020
- ICAEW
ICAEW has reiterated its appeal for the world’s auditing standard-setter to act decisively on a new audit standard for less complex entities, amid ongoing concerns that the complexity of current audit rules could hamper efforts to rebuild the global economy.
Guidance - planning the audit
Exclusive
Is an audit required for a company?
- Helpsheets and support
- Jan 2016
- Technical Advisory Services
Technical helpsheet issued to help ICAEW members understand when a company requires an audit under the Companies Act 2006 and potential routes to audit exemption.
Exclusive
Practical considerations for auditing estimates
- May 2020
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
This webinar will recap the main changes to ISA 540 (Revised) Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures and will cover the latest thinking on how to efficiently and effectively apply this ISA.
Exclusive
ISA 315 Revised Implementation tips
- Mar 2021
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
ISA 315 (Revised) Identifying and assessing risk is effective for audit of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2021.
Exclusive
Material is material, but what does material mean?
- Jan 2017
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
In this webinar David Gallagher addresses how to apply these principles effectively and how to record them efficiently.
Exclusive
Hot topics and tips for 2022 audits
- Nov 2021
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
Join Peter Herbert for this webinar aimed at helping small and medium sized audit firms get ready for the 2021/22 reporting reason.
Guidance - performing the audit
Exclusive
Top tips for auditing revenue
- Apr 2020
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
Although the ISA (UK) requirements for auditing revenue have been largely unchanged in recent years, it remains an area where firms are regularly pulled up on QAD inspection visits. This one hour webinar will provide an insight into where problems arise and guidance on how to address them.
Exclusive
Audit of bank and cash in light of recent developments
- May 2018
This webinar will focus on some of the key areas of difficulty faced by companies, including practical examples of the types of transaction which have typically caused problems.
Exclusive
Letters of support – a guide for auditors
- Helpsheets and support
- Nov 2020
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
Frequently asked questions for auditors on letters of support. This guide from the Audit and Assurance Faculty covers considerations for auditors when deciding whether a letter of support may be relied on as audit evidence.
Exclusive
Preparing and auditing going concern – lessons from COVID-19
- Oct 2020
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
Join Hugh Morgan, Technical Director, RSM and Ben Hamar, Associate Director, Smith & Williamson as they discuss lessons learned from COVID-19 when preparing and auditing going concern.
Exclusive
Practical considerations for auditing estimates
- May 2020
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
This webinar will recap the main changes to ISA 540 (Revised) Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures and will cover the latest thinking on how to efficiently and effectively apply this ISA.
Auditing estimates and related disclosures
- Jul 2019
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
ISA 540 (Revised) Auditing accounting estimates and related disclosures is effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2019.
Exclusive
A Practical Guide to Auditing Related Party Transactions
- Sep 2019
- Audit and Assurance Faculty
Practical guidance on the audit of related party transactions in SME businesses and charities.
Is there a place for substantive analytical procedures?
- Jul 2016
Find out about the key practical challenges for auditors trying to answer this question, as well as what often goes wrong and how to get substantive analytical procedures right.
Exclusive
Data Analytics in Small & Medium Sized Practices
- 09 Oct 2017
This recording will provide an insight into the experiences of two medium sized audit practices when starting to use data analytics products as part of the audit processes
Exclusive
Data analytics - one year on
- 16 Oct 2018
This webinar will focus on the progress made by two medium sized audit practices one year on from the last webinar presented by Alex Peal and Lisa Leighton.
Scepticism: the practitioners' take
- Thought leadership report
- 25 Jun 2018
Professional scepticism is central to the work of auditors and yet audit regulators and others continue to express concerns that auditors are not sufficiently sceptical. This report explores what auditors and other stakeholders think about how it can be enhanced and who is responsible for it.
Exclusive
Mastering audit documentation revisited
- 19 Nov 2018
Many people were taken by surprise when the FRC announced at the end of June of this year that it was withdrawing Practice Note 26 (Guidance on Smaller Entity Documentation).
Exclusive
Common Covid-19 audit issues
- 05 Oct 2020
Join Kirsty Jones, Professional Consultant, Technical Advisory Services and Michelle Cardwell, Technical Manager, Audit and Assurance Faculty, as they discuss comment COVID-19 audit issues.
Exclusive
Remote auditing in practice
- 17 Aug 2020
Restrictions in travel and local lockdowns have resulted in the rapid adoption of remote working, including remote auditing techniques. Auditors have had to adapt their approaches to fit changing risk profiles, while finding new ways of working and communicating.
Guidance - reviewing and reporting
Exclusive
Effective file review
- 27 Jun 2019
As part of the ICAEW’s guidance on audit documentation, a common issue is how to record the review process effectively.
Exclusive
Cold file reviews and root cause analysis
- 12 Mar 2018
In this webinar David Gallagher, Partner at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, will share his experience of carrying out cold file reviews (for both audit and non-audit assignments).
Managing a QAD visit
Get practical advice on how to successfully manage an audit monitoring visit from ICAEW’s Quality Assurance Department (QAD).
An introduction to using electronic signatures to sign an audit report
- Helpsheets and support
- 24 Jun 2020
Many auditors are working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown, and this presents logistical challenges for the signing of the auditor’s reports on financial statements.
How to report on irregularities, including fraud, in the auditor’s report – a guide for auditors
- Helpsheets and support
- 09 Oct 2020
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.
How to report on irregularities, including fraud, in the auditor’s report - Guide for auditors reporting for the first time
- Helpsheets and support
- 01 Apr 2021
For periods commencing on or after 15 December 2019, all auditors (where ISAs (UK) apply) are required to explain in the auditor’s report the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud. This guide from ICAEW’s Audit and Assurance Faculty provides practical considerations for auditors who are required to report on irregularities, including fraud, for the first time.
Improving audit quality using root cause analysis
- Report
- 20 Oct 2016
- PDF (1,161kb)
The Audit and Assurance Faculty have created a paper offering information on how external auditors can use root cause analysis to improve the quality of their audits. They cover what RCA is and why it is becoming an important tool. The downloadable paper also covers key questions that auditors need to consider when undertaking RCA, including: when it should be completed, who should be involved and how it can be completed.