Oversight of the external auditor: Guidance for audit committees
Through effective oversight, audit committees contribute to the audit’s overall quality while safeguarding the external auditor’s independence. Learn more about audit committee responsibilities, as well as activities and best practices to meet those responsibilities.
Audit quality is increasingly in the spotlight as a key element of the financial reporting process.
Oversight of the External Auditor: Guidance for Audit Committees builds on the discussion papers and final report of the Enhancing Audit Quality (EAQ) initiative, a joint project of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) that examined how to enhance audit quality in light of global developments.
You will learn about:
- the role and responsibilities of the audit committee for ensuring audit quality
- annual oversight activities including:
- monitoring the effectiveness of the financial reporting environment
- considering the results of CPAB inspection findings
- reviewing the overall audit strategy
- reviewing the audit plan and assessing the reasonableness of the audit fee
- monitoring the audit plan’s execution
- evaluating the external auditor’s findings
- annual assessment of the external auditor
- periodic comprehensive review of the external auditor
This tool is also available in Microsoft Word format.