New PCAOB Staff Report Sheds Light on Rising Audit Deficiencies

A new report from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reveals that 42 percent of firms the PCAOB inspected in 2022 had a quality control criticism related to engagement quality reviews ( EQRs ), up from 37 percent in 2020 .

In addition to covering recent trends in audit deficiencies related to EQRs , the report provides good practices and reminders for auditors so they can avoid such deficiencies . It also highlights key questions related to EQRs that audit committees might want to consider as discussion points as they engage with external auditors . Despite the prevalence of EQR deficiencies , the staff report notes that many firms continue to take EQR-related steps to improve their quality control systems .

These practices , which may positively influence audit quality , involve :

• Workload and expertise monitoring ;

• Timely and increased involvement of EQR reviewers for key audit milestones ;

• Increased accountability ;

• New and revised audit tools and guidance ; and

• Root cause task forces . Find more info at https :// assets . pcaobus . org / pcaob-dev / docs / default-source / documents / eqr-spotlight . pdf .

The AICPA and all 54 state CPA societies sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting DHS recognize accounting under the “ T ” for Technology in Science Technology Engineering Math ( STEM ) education . The letter specifically requested that six accountancy programs be added to the Classification of Instructional Program ( CIP ) code list maintained by DHS ’ s STEM Designated Degree Program List .

Visit oscpa . com / writable / files / 2023 _ accounting _ stem _ nomination _ aicpa _ et _ al _ final _ copy1 . pdf to read the letter and go to thiswaytocpa . com / segmented-landing / stem-initiative for more on these efforts .

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