The Audit Quality Forum (AQF), hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), has released a discussion paper titled ‘Reliability Maters: Reliability and the Central role of the Auditor’.
According to ICAEW, the paper is aimed at looking at audit through the concept of reliability, which can provide "a new perspective" on relevant topics such as audit quality, expectation gaps and scepticism.
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"Audit quality is often referred to and debated. Yet no clear consensus has been reached on exactly what it is or how it can be measured," ICAEW executive director Robert Hodgkinson said.
By focusing on reliability, the AQF said it is possible to identify relevant questions such as what steps auditors can take to engage with users of audited financial statements and how to balance the need for reliability with the need for risk taking.
"Inputs to an audit are very important, but ultimately audit quality has to be judged by how reliable the audit financial information is in the eyes of users. Focusing on reliability as a central concept in auditing put more emphasis on outcomes and on what users want and need," Hodgkinson added.
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Audit Quality Forum
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
