Brydon review on quality and effectiveness of audit published
By James Barbour, Director, Policy Leadership
18 December 2019
Sir Donald Brydon publishes his report on his Independent Review into the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit.
Sir Donald Brydon’s final report on his Independent Review into the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit has been published.
This contains a number of recommendations which encompass a range of different strands. These are categorised in the report as follows:
- A redefinition of audit and its purpose;
- The creation of a corporate auditing profession governed by principles;
- The introduction of suspicion into the qualities of auditing;
- The extension of the concept of auditing to areas beyond financial statements;
- Mechanisms to encourage greater engagement of shareholders with audit and auditors;
- A change to the language of the opinion given by auditors;
- The introduction of a corporate Audit and Assurance Policy, a Resilience Statement and a Public Interest Statement;
- Suggestions to inform the work of BEIS on internal controls and improve clarity on capital maintenance;
- Greater clarity around the role of the audit committee;
- A package of measures around fraud detection and prevention;
- Improved auditor communication and transparency;
- Obligations to acknowledge external signals of concern;
- Extension of audit to new areas including Alternative Performance Measures; and
- The increased use of technology.
ICAS will be giving due consideration to these recommendations which are wide ranging in nature and cover areas beyond audit. A series of articles will be featured on icas.com providing greater detail on the above proposals over the coming days.