The role that the chartered accountants are expected to play by way of audit/ certification of financial/ non financial information under various laws and regulations is only an indicator of the trust that the Government and the society places in us to take our country forward on the road of development. Given this, it is imperative that the quality of the work that we do as auditors is such that it upholds the trust reposed in our Profession and justifies the respect that it commands.
At this juncture, I may emphasise that the auditing standards issued by ICAI are a critical and indispensible component for ensuring audit quality. These Standards are therefore mandatory for compliance by members. Remaining later and aware and gaining knowledge and understanding about these Standards are the first step to their implementation.
The Auditing & Assurance Standards Board of the Institute has taken a number of initiatives to help members understand and implement these Standards. These initiatives include:
Programmes on auditing standards in June and July 2012 at Pune, Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Ernakulam and Bangalore. The Board also has a comprehensive Background Material on auditing standards for these programmes.
E-learning on Auditing Standards – Two phases of interactive e-learning covering twenty auditing standards at a nominal fee of Rs. 500/- per phase with validity of 90 days. The concept of e-learning facilitates learning at speed and place – home/ office/ while travelling – convenient to the member.
Implementation Guides to Auditing Standards – Lucidly written, step by step guides to applying Standards in real life audit situations. Till date the Board has brought out Implementation Guides on auditing standards dealing with quality control, audit materiality and sampling, risk based audit of financial statements, etc.
Other technical literature – As a measure to help SMPs, the Board has also brought out a Practitioner’s Guide to Audit of Smaller Entities (including tiny enterprises) containing templates on various phases of an audit.
Guidance to Members on Regulatory Requirements of Various Regulators – ICAI also remains in constant dialogue with the various regulators such as SEBI, RBI, IRDA, etc., on audit related issues that may arise on account of their regulatory directions so that appropriate guidance can be provide to the members. The recent announcement of the ICAI on auditors’ reporting responsibilities on dismantling of IMTPIP by the Insurance Regulatory and Development authority is only one example of the outcome of ICAI’s interaction with the regulators.
At this juncture, I must emphasise that as a member of the Institute, it is your primary responsibility to remain aware of the technical pronouncements of the Institute, particularly, the mandatory pronouncements such as the Standards since failure to comply with them can have serious connotations. So while ICAI is undertaking these awareness and knowledge enhancement initiatives, as a regulator of the Profession, ICAI also keenly looks forward to your positive response to these initiatives.
For more details, I request to you log on to our website www.icai.org or visit the webpage of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board at URL:http://www.icai.org/new_post.html?post_id=662&c_id=38
I also eagerly look forward to your valuable feedback to these initiatives as also any suggestions on how we can encourage compliance with auditing standards among the members, especially, those at the grass roots level. For this, please feel free to get in touch with me or CA. Abhijit Bandyopadhyay, my colleague in the Central Council and Chairman, Auditing & Assurance Standards Board.
Regards,
CA. JAYDEEP N SHAH
President, ICAI
