The EY organization is preparing for the audit of the future. With the pace of change accelerating, it is vital to anticipate those changes.
Investors are not the only stakeholders who depend on high-quality auditing and financial reporting. Employees, pensioners, suppliers and lenders, among others, rely on high-quality audits to make important decisions. These decisions involve who to work for, whether salaries will be paid on time, the safety of investments and with whom to do business.
Driving high-quality audits – sustainably and consistently across the globe – is a key focus area. The EY organization is also preparing for the audit of the future, which will be different to the audit of today. With the pace of change accelerating, it is vital to anticipate those changes.
We will need to continue to equip EY people with the most advanced technology. They will also need new competencies involving technology and analytics, while engagement teams will use specialists more often in areas such as tax, fraud, valuation, cyber and IT. This multidisciplinary model, combined with the application of new technology, will better identify risks and enhance audit quality.
The six pillars and foundation of SAQ will help EY auditors prepare for the audit of the future. There is still more to do, and EY is ready to accept that challenge – and to continue to make the delivery of high-quality audits the top priority.
Summary
Felice Persico, EY Global Vice Chair – Assurance, says that high-quality audits help to inspire trust and confidence in the capital markets, and must be the organization’s top priority. To help accomplish this, EY launched the Sustainable Audit Quality (SAQ) program in 2015. It has six pillars: tone at the top; exceptional talent; audit technology and digital; simplification and innovation; enablement and quality support; and accountability. SAQ continues to evolve, leveraging new competencies and technological advances to better identify risks and enhance audit quality.