The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA), together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), formally launched the ‘Quality Assurance for Audit Good Practice Guide’ at a seminar held on 9 November 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The launch and seminar was attended by close to 70 attendees from more than 25 countries, ranging from leaders and technical experts representing professional accountancy organisations (PAOs), international organisations, audit regulators and development partners.

This good practice guide (GPG) is an output from a capacity building project funded by the ADB focused on designing, implementing and improving quality assurance (QA) for audit in four countries – Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and Samoa. The ICAEW was engaged to undertake the project, which included developing roadmaps to guide the establishment of QA for audit in these countries and to develop the GPG. The GPG is designed to be relevant for all those responsible for the regulation of auditing, including policymakers, regulators and PAOs.

A half-day seminar led by consultants from ICAEW discussed the design and implementation of an effective QA for audit system. Effective QA for audit improves auditing and financial reporting by ensuring that auditors perform to the highest professional and ethical standards, and that national audit standards are well harmonised with global standards. The seminar also included a session involving the four pilot countries discussing challenges around QA for audit and lessons learnt during the development and implementation phases.

CAPA Chief Executive, Brian Blood, is pleased to see great interest around QA for audit and the GPG – an indication that the profession is committed to continually improving audit quality. This was visible through attendees’ active participation during the seminar, contributing to very useful and engaging discussions. “The QA for Audit GPG is also part of the Maturity Model™ Guidance Series, a series of publications to support the ‘Maturity Model for the Development of Professional Accountancy Organisations™‘  produced by CAPA,” Brian commented. “The Maturity Model™ is a self-assessment tool which provides a roadmap for organisational growth based on the measurement and improvement of practices and processes, and is relevant to both well-established and newly-formed PAOs,” he added. For an overview of the Maturity Model™ and the QA for Audit GPG, read this flyer or watch this introduction video.

CAPA President, Jackie Poirier, noted the long association between CAPA and ADB that began during the late 1970’s. “CAPA is very thankful to ADB for choosing us as a partner to facilitate this project which has a wide regional reach from Asia all the way to the Pacific. This is an important aspect of the project since a regional approach offers a smarter way for development partners to provide assistance to more than one recipient, which is a more efficient use of limited resources, including time,” she commented. “We hope that the ADB will continue to work with CAPA to develop and advance the accountancy profession in the region, as we have done in the last 30 years over a variety of projects,” Jackie added.

More information about the event, including the program, speakers profiles and selected materials from the seminar can be found in this section: Events > Past Events > QA for Audit Launch & Seminar

To access an electronic copy of the QA for Audit GPG, go to: PAO Development > Maturity Model Guidance Series > Quality Assurance