Australian Government
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Audit quality is integral to the operation of the financial reporting system. Audit Committee Chairs (ACCs) play an important role in the oversight of financial reporting and the performance and quality of their external auditor. Therefore, their perspectives are vital and a key indicator of audit quality in Australia.
In recognition of this, the FRC – in conjunction with the AUASB – commissioned independent research to gather perspectives on audit quality from a sample of ACCs. This builds on previously conducted surveys of ACCs (one in 2018 and another in 2020). This report has been authored by the independent researchers and details the feedback they received.
Pleasingly and importantly ACCs remain very satisfied with the quality of their external auditor. The results are consistent with previous surveys.
In addition, this research gathered in depth feedback on the matters that influence ACC’s views, and how they support audit quality. We hope this report assists audit committees and auditors as they work together with the goal of continuous improvement and enhanced audit quality, and ultimately high-quality financial reporting.
This research also explored views on assurance over sustainability reporting which will inform us going forward as this reporting and related assurance further evolves in Australia.