Audit News Briefing: 26 July 2016

Audit-is-cool is pleased to accumulate and provide its readers with the news on audit and related topics:

July 20, 2016

Accounting Today (Debits&Credits)

Internal Auditors Move to Combat Cyberattacks

New Report – Institute of Internal Auditors: Growing Role of Internal Audit Profession in Cybersecurity

The kind of support needed:

·         Not simply focused on prevention.

·         Setting and management of expectation.

·         Helping the company assess readiness in dealing with the inevitable.

IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers: “What we continue to find is that cybersecurity is recognized almost universally as one of the most significant risks that organizations face … It’s one that internal auditors have increasingly begun to recognize they have to help address. But what we also find is that in a lot of instances the focus can’t just be on trying to prevent a cyberattack because cyberattacks are virtually inevitable. Anyone who tells their board or their customers that they are immune from a cybersecurity attack is just not being truthful.”

Please follow link for details: http://www.accountingtoday.com/blogs/debits-credits/news/internal-auditors-move-to-combat-cyberattacks-78732-1.html

July 19, 2016

Accounting Today (Accounting Technology)

Internal Audit Function Varies Globally

19-July REPORT – Internal Auditors Research Foundation: Found a variety of factors affecting the maturity levels of internal audit in different parts of the globe, including the:

-       age and size of the internal audit function,

-       the type of industry,

-       the size of the organization, and

-       other variables.

Highlight: technological variation across regions – regions still relying on manual systems and processes (13%) North America (36%) East Asia and Pacific.

Please follow link for details: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/audit-accounting/internal-audit-function-varies-globally-78716-1.html

June 29, 2016

Accounting Web

PCAOB Issues Staff Guidance for Firms on the New Form AP

(AP) Audit Participants NEW FORM requires disclosure of the following:

·         The name of the engagement partner for all public company audits issued on or after Jan. 31, 2017.

·         Information about other audit firms participating in the audit for all public company audits issued on or after June 30, 2017. That information will include the names, locations, and extent of participation of other accounting firms that took part in the audit, if their work constituted 5 percent or more of the total audit hours. It also will include the number and aggregate extent of participation of all other accounting firms that took part in the audit whose individual participation was less than 5 percent of the total audit hours.

Written Statement of Martin Baumann (PCAOB chief auditor and director of professional standards) – “Form AP will provide transparency to investors about the engagement partner and other accounting firms that took part in the audit… The guidance issued today (29-Jun) will help firms implement the processes required to deliver that information.”

Please follow link for details: http://www.accountingweb.com/aa/auditing/pcaob-issues-staff-guidance-for-firms-on-the-new-form-ap