Volume 3, Issue 6

June 2009

I. CAQ Webcast on Auditing Standard No. 5 Draws Record Interest

“Plan early, have partner involvement and really try to do an integrated audit.” That advice for auditors performing integrated audits for the first time was shared by Greg Wilson, Deputy Director of Inspections at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) during a May 28 webcast, “AS 5 Implementation for Audits of Non-Accelerated Filers: Part I – The Fundamentals.”

More than 900 people registered for the webcast, the first of a three-part series on AS 5 implementation conducted by the Center for Audit Quality.

Joining Executive Director Cindy Fornelli for the CAQ's May 28 Webcast on AS 5 were (left to right): Scott Graham, Ernst & Young LLP; Greg Wilson, PCAOB; and Trent Gazzaway, Grant Thornton LLP.

Moderated by CAQ Executive Director Cindy Fornelli, webcast panelists Wilson, Scott Graham, Partner, Assurance Standards & Methodology, Ernst & Young LLP, and Trent Gazzaway, Managing Partner of Corporate Governance, Grant Thornton LLP, shared their experiences on implementing the PCAOB’s Auditing Standard No. 5, An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated with An Audit of Financial Statements.

According to Gazzaway, “If you can design a financial statement audit, you can design an integrated audit. Don’t over-engineer the effort.” Graham encouraged participants to take advantage of the PCAOB’s guidance, the COSO guidance and the CAQ’s Lessons Learned publication when planning an integrated audit for the first time.

The AS 5 webcast series continues on June 24th with part two, “AS 5 Implementation for Audits of Non-Accelerated Filers: Part II – Testing Controls.” Please click here to register.

The archived webcast of Part I is available online.

II. CAQ Launches Web Resource for Integrated Audits of Non-Accelerated Filers

The CAQ has launched a new web resource, Resources for Integrated Audits of Non-Accelerated Filers, for auditors who are preparing to comply with the auditor attestation requirements under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Thousands of smaller public companies and their auditors are preparing to comply for the first time with AS 5, which is effective for audits of smaller public companies under Section 404(b) of SOX for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2009.

The CAQ created the new resource to provide member firms and other capital market stakeholders with information from a variety of sources, including the SEC, the PCAOB and the CAQ in one central location.

III. Fornelli Discusses IFRS at Standard & Poor’s Symposium

On May 15th, Cindy Fornelli was a speaker at a Standard & Poor’s symposium on international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Fornelli’s panel, on the opportunities and challenges presented by the proposed transition in the U.S. to a single set of global accounting standards, was covered by BNA’s Daily Report for Executives. According to BNA, “Fornelli said retreating from adopting IFRS would be a setback to the U.S. capital markets since it would hurt the nation's ability to compete globally. ‘I think there are real potential downfalls and huge ramifications for many years to come [from such a move],’” Fornelli said.