Adopt good practices for auditor resignations

Resigning auditors have a responsibility to issue clear and informative cessation statements under section 519 of Companies Act 2006. But a wide range of quality in submitted cessation statements is seen by ICAEW’s Quality Assurance Department (QAD) during its monitoring activities and visits to audit firms. 

To assist firms, Auditor resignations: promoting transparency and best practice offers reminders from QAD on why good quality cessation statements are so important. It also shares examples of good practices QAD has seen, highlights risks around using ‘boiler-plate’ cessation statements, and suggests ways of improving transparency.

Prepare for stronger auditor reporting requirements

The UK Financial Reporting Council is consulting on its proposal to strengthen auditor requirements to detect and report material misstatements from non-compliance with laws and regulations and to clarify when auditors should report such breaches and other significant matters to regulators.

Expect changes to ISA (UK) 250 (Revised November 2019, updated May 2022) Section A – Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements and Section B (Revised November 2019) – The Auditor’s Statutory Right and Duty to Report to Regulators of Public Interest Entities and Regulators of Other Entities in the Financial Sector.

For more on regulatory developments in auditing and assurance, financial reporting and ethics, visit the faculty’s rolling record of Technical news in brief. 

Learn from ICAEW disciplinary cases

Is your firm making avoidable mistakes? Recent disciplinary cases may offer improvement opportunities, as these cases include findings related to auditors.

Faculty events

Don’t miss out on faculty events during November and December 2023.

Stay up to date with Hot topics and tips for 2024 audits by joining Peter Herbert’s Zoom webinar, which took place on on 13 November 2023. Highlights include areas for improvement, key QAD messages for smaller practices, and tips for implementing new and revised auditing standards.

Attend ISQM 1 – maintaining momentum at Chartered Accountants’ Hall from 09:00-12:00 GMT on 21 November 2023. The half-day event will feature QAD insights, what firms have learned so far, root cause analysis training, and roundtable discussions among peers to discuss learnings and challenges.

Focus on risk at our Zoom webinar ISA 315 – Putting the building blocks together from 10:00-11:30 GMT on 6 December. Rhodri Whitlock and Paul Winrow offer reminders on the importance of planning, controls, IT and GITC evaluation and sampling and other aspects of implementation. 

In case you missed it

New ICAEW CPD regulations

From 1 November 2023, there are new ICAEW regulations for continuing professional development (CPD). Find out why CPD is changing, what is changing and how you will be affected.

Resources to assist include ICAEW’s CPD regulations, a guide to CPD, and CPD learning resources for professionals in various specialist areas, including audit and assurance. 

Faculty webinar library

Our library of webinar recordings covers matters including:

ISA 600: what’s changing for group and component auditors;

implementing ISA 315 – controls and IT; and 

a series on auditing accounting estimates under ISA 540 (Revised) on identifying specific risks, depreciation and fixed assets, provisions, and property valuations.