A new process introduced by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on June 25 will allow registered public accounting firms to submit questions to board staff and receive informal feedback on how to implement new auditing standards and apply existing rules in an effort to boost audit quality.
Led by its Office of the Chief Auditor, the PCAOB has established a firm consultation process, which the audit regulator says “aims to enhance the consistent interpretation and high-quality implementation of PCAOB standards and promote timely resolution of interpretive questions.”
“Delivering clear guidance is essential to the PCAOB’s efforts to drive further improvement in audit quality,” PCAOB Chairman Demetrios Logothetis said in a statement on Thursday. “This staff-led consultation process is designed to help firms implement new standards and apply our standards more consistently, which will ultimately fulfill the PCAOB’s mission to protect investors.”
As part of the firm consultation process, registered firms can request a consultation with the Office of the Chief Auditor on the interpretation and application of PCAOB auditing, attestation, and quality control standards and related rules and forms, as well as PCAOB standards and rules on ethics and independence.
If a registered public accounting firm decides to proceed with a consultation under this new process, a request for consultation should be submitted by completing the consultation intake form, according to the PCAOB.
The submission should include:
- Name and contact information (telephone number and email address) for a contact person with the firm. If the firm has a national office or other centralized expert resources, the contact person is expected to be a representative of that office / resource;
- One or more questions regarding the interpretation or application of PCAOB requirements, including the name of the company under audit (unless the question calls only for interpretation of language in PCAOB standards, rules, or forms);
- Relevant PCAOB standard(s), rule(s) and form(s), published guidance, and any previous consultations the firm considers relevant;
- The firm’s interpretation of the relevant standard(s)/rule(s) and proposed course of action;
- Other technical resources consulted, such as national office personnel and firm guidance;
- Confirmation that the issue does not arise in connection with any pending inspection, investigation, or remediation matter, or other pending or threatened disciplinary action or litigation; and
- An indication of any specific timing concerns related to the request.
The Office of the Chief Auditor will acknowledge receipt of the request via email, the PCAOB says.
The chief auditor’s office doesn’t plan to make consultation requests public but could publish public guidance for questions that are frequently asked or may be of use more generally, the board added.
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