Auditors warned to shape up
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Auditors have been placed on notice to pick up their act following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) review that identified a number of instances where they were falling short of the mark.
The regulator yesterday released an audit firm inspection report in which it suggested that some audit activities had been influenced by the volatile conditions generated by the global financial crisis.
Commenting on the review report, ASIC director Michael Dwyer said different entities had been affected in different ways by the current economic conditions and it was important auditors continued to focus on areas such as “going concern”, “impairment of assets” and “determination of fair value assets”.
He said there was also a need for auditors to adopt a high level of professional scepticism when reviewing significant audit judgement areas in the current economic climate.
Dwyer said ASIC would be continuing to maintain a focus on auditors, particularly those operating in areas impacted by the global financial crisis.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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