The research assesses the importance of the main drivers of audit quality in those firms. Auditors from a range of levels across the firms, not just partners, provided a sense of where there may be different perspectives on commitment to quality. The findings reveal that professional scepticism ranks in the top three most important skills across all respondent groups.
The review approach supplements the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)Audit Inspection Program and the firms’ national and international reviews. The ICAA will work with the firms to correlate findings from all research avenues, as well as assess whether this approach can be adapted for other practice areas.
For an overview of this research, read the article “Professional Scepticism Paramount for Auditors” by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia published in the February 2013 edition of GAA Accounting. Also, review the additional research and guidance on professional scepticism currently available online.
