February 8, 2022
 

Connecting Auditors and Academics

In an effort to bring together practice leaders and audit research scholars for discussion of important issues and exploration of how research can inform those issues, the CAQ hosts an Annual Symposium. Discover videos, summaries, and lists of panel participants (along with biographical information for those panelists) on our CAQ Symposium page.

The CAQ houses and supports a variety of resources and programs geared at ensuring the continued engagement between academics and members of the financial reporting ecosystem.

Classroom and Training Resources

Academics are not only leaders in the financial reporting system, but help prepare future talent to enter our profession. The CAQ creates educational videos that can be used in the classroom or as training resources. Available videos include a “Video Vignettes” series that provides a view into the types of conversations that take place during an audit. Videos also include classroom-ready excerpts derived from an expert panel at a CAQ event.

Vignette 3: Auditing is a People Business

In this vignette, the audit team has identified a potential error in the income statement. On Monday evening, the engagement team realized that the income statement analytic showed a decrease in marketing expenses for the quarter and the year. However, the engagement team’s expectation was that the company would have an increase in marketing expense because of additional spending.

Vignette 2: Evaluating Root Cause and Severity of a Control Deficiency

In these vignettes, the audit team’s substantive testing detected an error in a prepaid insurance account; the company didn’t record amortization on a prepaid insurance arrangement. In the first vignette, the partner, the manager and the senior associate are discussing the design of the control over the account, how it was operationalized, and why the control failed to detect the error.

Vignette 1: Evaluating Management Review Controls over a Goodwill Impairment Estimate

In these vignettes, the focus is on breakdowns in review controls and steps external auditors take in order to evaluate the design and effectiveness of controls. The audit manager is evaluating the management review control over goodwill impairment estimates.

Risk Assessment Panel Discussions

Our panel discussion videos are short excerpts from a CAQ event where practitioners and a leading academic provide perspectives on various issues related to the auditors’ risk assessment of a company. Included are the panelist bios and free short descriptions of each video excerpt. Take a look at all of our Panel Discussions below.

How Auditors Approach Risk Assessment

In this video, the expert panel discusses the factors that auditors take into account when performing the risk assessment. The PCAOB has a suite of risk assessment standards that address audit procedures performed throughout the audit, from the initial planning stages through the evaluation of the audit results. In addition to providing insight into some of the business issues that are considered in their procedures, the panel provides an overview of the different data sources that they consult.

How Materiality Impacts the Auditor’s Risk Assessment

PCAOB auditing standards establish requirements regarding the auditor’s consideration of materiality in planning and performing the audit. This consideration is one of the most important judgments that an auditor makes. In this video, the expert panel discusses the challenges that auditors face in determining the quantitative and qualitative elements of risk assessment at the consolidated financial statement level and at the individual component level.

Consideration of Risks in Multi Location Audits

Under PCAOB auditing standards, the auditor should determine tolerable misstatement for the individual locations or business units. In this video, the expert panel describes some of the key challenges that auditors face in making those decisions.

Documentation Issues

In this video, the expert panel discusses the challenges that auditors face in adequately documenting their judgments and conclusions around the risks identified in the risk assessment process. They mention the importance of articulating the variable audit response required for low, medium, and high risks. The panel also addresses this question of how management documents its response to their identified risks.

Implementation of New Accounting Standards

The implementation of new accounting standards can present a unique set of challenges for preparers (and their auditors). Public companies must begin to apply the new revenue recognition standard to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017; the new leasing standard will be applicable to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. In this video the expert panel discusses how this “new GAAP” could impact the auditor’s assessment of the risk for misstatement in the financial statements.

How Management Thinks about Risks that Impact its Business

Companies are confronted with myriad of risks that can impact their business, such as an emerging competitor, loss of market share, and, obsolescence of their product line. The pace of change has also brought on disruptive innovations such as Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and risks such as cybersecurity breaches. In this video, the panel explores the challenges that company management and boards face as they attempt to assess and manage the risks.

Management’s Response to Identified Risks

Company management faces considerable challenges when it comes to addressing the wide range of business risks. In this video, we learn how some companies address risks that have been identified, including how they communicate that information to the board.

Grant Awards Programs

Access to Audit Personnel Program

The CAQ currently supports the Access to Audit Personnel program (AAP), offered in partnership with the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association (AAA). The first phase of this program was limited to projects where the Principal Investigator is a doctoral student or an assistant professor seeking tenure, while the second phase includes an expansion to accept proposals where the principal investigator is a tenured faculty member. However, the Access Review Committee will continue to reserve awards to doctoral students and tenure-track professors.

Learn more about the Access to Audit Personnel Program

Research Advisory Board Grant Program

 From 2009-2021 the CAQ began its Research Advisory Board, (RAB), annually awarding grants to fund auditing-related scholarly research.  The RAB, comprised of representatives from academia and the profession, awarded 49 grants for independent academic research projects. While the program is no longer active, the achievements of grant recipients and their published journals continue to have a profound impact on our profession.

Contact Research and Grants: For all inquiries related to the CAQ’s Research and Grants programs, please contact Margot Cella, Vice President, Research and Anti-Fraud Initiatives, 202-609-8058.

Learn more about RAB grant recipients and journals