Meetings and Group Briefing Sessions on Inspection

13 Feb, 2020

Starting from 1 October 2019, the date when the FRCO became effective, the FRC is responsible for carrying out inspections on the PIE auditors with the objectives of monitoring and promoting audit quality. To ensure effective and efficient inspections, the FRC organised meetings and group briefing sessions with the PIE auditors to introduce its scope of inspection, inspection process, reporting and the inspection arrangement for 2020, and to address issues of concerns of the PIE auditors in January and February 2020.

A total of 8 individual meetings and 3 group briefing sessions on inspection were arranged with the PIE auditors. The meetings and the group briefing sessions received overwhelming support from the registered PIE auditors as 39 out of 43 registered PIE auditors which had PIE engagements had participated.

The meetings and the group briefing sessions also provides invaluable opportunities for the FRC to understand and discuss directly with the PIE auditors the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the 2019 December year-end audit and to provide the PIE auditors with important reminders and guidance on how audit quality and auditor independence could continue be upheld at this challenging moment. The FRC also shares observations regarding key advancements and issues in the global audit oversight with the PIE auditors. Such observations include the increased sharing of inspection reports or key inspection results with the audit committees, inclusion of good practices in the inspection reports if identified and repeated inspection finding on insufficient engagement quality control review etc.

The meetings and the group briefing sessions received positive feedbacks from the participants who regarded it as constructive, helpful and informative.

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