Kvalitetsstyring i revisionsvirksomheder

Abstract

The audit industry is experiencing an increasing number of demands in relation to its engagements. On December 15, 2022, a new standard for the audit firms shall be implemented. The name of the new standard is ISQM1. ISQM1 stands for International Standard on Quality Management. The standard focuses on the internal procedures in the audit firm. The new standard replaces the current, ISQC1 (International Standard on Quality Control). As can be seen in the title, the new standard focuses on the management in the audit firm rather than the controls. In the new standard the role of the management will be far more important, than in the current standard. One of the main focal points is, that the management shall be more involved in the daily work in the audit firm. Focus from the management shall be to establish a culture internally in the audit firm, where high level of quality should be considered the goal. An element of the culture should also be, that the audit firm and its employees should seek to understand the importance of the professional ethics, values, and attitudes. Another focal point in the new standard is the required documentation. In comparison to the current standard, the firms are required to secure documentation on a bigger amount of the communication regarding the engagements and quality in general. The documentation is a very important part of the new standard. In the current standard, the firms are required to describe the policies and procedures regarding the firm’s aspiration on high quality. In the new standard the firms are required to have documentation that shows that the firm is focused on obtaining high quality. The focus on audit firms in this thesis will be centered around the smaller audit firms. Money laundering legislation is another subject to which there has been an increasing number of actions, to prevent money laundering. In recent years the focus on preventing money laundering has been increasing. The audit industry is considered to play an important role in the prevention of money laundering. The abovementioned demands may not be things that the clients to the audit firms are aware of. Therefore, the clients do not know, that the audit firms are doing more work to comply with the demands. Because of the abovementioned demands, it is considered interesting to investigate whether the audit firms will experience a change in profitability due to the increasing demands. This thesis will focus on the current standards regarding the audit firms as well as the forthcoming standards. Furthermore, there will be focus on the legislation regarding the money laundering to investigate if audit firms will experience a change in profitability.