Improving the Audit of Cash Flow Statements
Auditors are repeatedly missing cash‑flow statement errors, prompting regulators such as the FRC to call for tighter scrutiny. In a Q&A, RSM UK Technical Director Hugh Morgan outlines how audit teams can improve cash‑flow audits, from assigning senior reviewers to confirming cash balances. He stresses the need for bank confirmations, avoiding self‑review threats, and linking cash‑flow testing to the broader financial‑statement audit. The guidance stems from a recent ICAEW webinar on common pitfalls and best practices.
UK Audit Regulations and Guidance
Effective 1 June 2025, ICAEW‑registered audit firms must notify ICAEW when they accept complex or high‑risk audits that meet specific turnover, fee or public‑interest thresholds. The notification must be submitted online within 21 business days of appointment, unless a waiver is granted...
ISQM 1 Monitoring and Remediation
ISQM 1 requires audit firms to maintain a continuous monitoring and remediation process as a core component of their system of quality management. The standard mandates systematic activities such as cold‑file reviews, root cause analysis, and timely remedial actions to address...
AI in Audit: Opportunities and Challenges
The Institute of Chartered Accountants hosted a webinar on 2 June 2025 exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping the audit profession. Speakers Konrad Bukowski‑Kruszyna and Luke Parker debunked AI myths, tackled real‑world implementation hurdles, and showcased tools that boost efficiency, quality, and...
AI: A Smaller Firm’s Perspective
Artificial intelligence is reshaping audit practices, and Gilberts Chartered Accountants illustrates how a midsized firm can adopt AI without heavy investment. By leveraging AI features already embedded in existing software, the firm has cut document‑summarisation time from 45 minutes to...
Auditing Revenue – Dealing with the Risks
Auditors frequently overlook revenue‑related risks, leading to regulator criticism for inadequate challenge of management assumptions and insufficient testing of material streams. A robust audit must dissect revenue streams, focus on completeness and cut‑off assertions, and understand the entity’s recognition criteria...
AI: A Larger Firm’s Perspective
Artificial intelligence is reshaping audit practices, moving from theory to everyday tools such as OCR, pattern‑recognition analytics, and generative AI platforms. Konrad Bukowski‑Kruszyna outlines four focus areas for large firms: advanced analytics, process automation, sophisticated solutions, and emerging agentic capabilities....
UK Guidance for Audits of Smaller and Less Complex Entities
The UK Financial Reporting Council has issued a 65‑page exposure draft Practice Note offering guidance on applying International Standards on Auditing (UK) to smaller and less complex entities. The draft, informed by an SME audit market study, proposes scalable, proportionate...
Exploring the Impact of New Sustainability Assurance Standards on Engagements
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standard Board for Accountants launched two new global sustainability assurance standards—ISSA 5000 and the IESSA—effective for engagements beginning 15 December 2026, with early adoption encouraged. ISSA 5000 provides a principles‑based framework covering all...
Auditing Revenue – Considerations for Your Next Assignment
Audit firms must revamp revenue audit approaches for the 2025‑2026 reporting season as the revised FRS 102 five‑step model takes effect in 2026. The article outlines how auditors should engage early with management on contracts, performance obligations, and payment probability, and...
Practical Advice for Considering Complexity in Audit-Relevant IT Systems
Audit & Beyond highlights the growing challenge for auditors to assess IT complexity in audited entities, especially after the ISA 315 revision effective December 2021. The ICAEW 2025 monitoring report shows many smaller firms fail to document understanding of ERP, AI,...
Audit and Tech – Where Are We Now?
2025 saw regulators and professional bodies accelerate technology adoption in audit, highlighted by the FRC’s inaugural AI guidance and the launch of its Innovation and Improvement Hub. The IAASB moved beyond technology‑agnostic standards, issuing a Technology Position and preparing revised...
Executing Effective Substantive Analytical Procedures
Graham Gardner’s article moves the focus of substantive analytical procedures (SAPs) from design to execution, highlighting disaggregation, threshold setting, and documentation. He explains how breaking balances into sub‑populations reduces noise and improves precision, while also introducing aggregation risk that must...
A Conversation with Nigel Sleigh-Johnson
After 25 years at ICAEW, Nigel Sleigh‑Johnson reflects on the profession’s shift from paper‑based processes to a digitally enabled, hybrid work model. He highlights how the pandemic forced rapid adoption of remote auditing, electronic signatures, and new guidance such as...