The PCAOB has released a concept release on audit quality indicators. You can find the release HERE, and the relevant PCAOB page HERE. These will be important for audit committees, external auditors, and other people.

As the PCAOB states:

“The indicators are a potential portfolio of quantitative measures that may provide new insights about how to evaluate the quality of audits and how high quality audits are achieved. Taken together with qualitative context, the indicators may inform discussions among those concerned with the financial reporting and auditing process, for example among audit committees and audit firms. Enhanced discussions, in turn, may strengthen audit planning, execution, and communication. Use of the indicators may also stimulate competition among audit firms focused on the quality of the firms’ work and, thereby, increase audit quality overall. Issues raised by the release include: (i) the nature of the potential indicators, (ii) the usefulness of particular indicators described in the release, (iii) suggestions for other indicators, (iv) potential users of the indicators, and (v) an approach to implementation over time of an audit quality indicator project.”

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco / California)