IFIAR Publications

IFIAR develops strategic and operational plans, along with thought leadership papers on key audit quality oversight matters, throughout the year. These publications can be accessed below.

ANNUAL REPORTS

ANNUAL INSPECTION FINDINGS SURVEY

IFIAR Annual Inspection Findings Survey can be found here.

IFIAR THOUGHT PAPERS AND REPORTS

IFIAR Information Paper: Facilitating Oversight of Global Audit Firm Networks
Audit Committees and Audit Quality: Trends and Possible Areas for Further Consideration
IFIAR Report: Internationally Relevant Developments in Audit Markets
IFIAR 2023 Report: Use of technology in audits - observations, risks and further evolution

IFIAR 2025 Report: Use of technology in audits - observations, risks and further evolution

STRATEGIC PLAN

IFIAR’s 2021-26 Strategic Plan was adopted by IFIAR Members at the 2021 Plenary Meeting and can be found here

SURVEY OF ENFORCEMENT REGIMES

IFIAR Enforcement Regimes Survey can be found here.

IFIAR CHARTER, CORE PRINCIPLES AND OTHER REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

IFIAR CHARTER

The following are key elements from the IFIAR Charter, for a further look into the IFIAR Charter please download the Charter here (effective as of April 25, 2022).

Activities of IFIAR
Sharing knowledge of the audit market environment and practical experience of independent audit regulatory activities with a focus on inspections of auditors and audit firms. Promoting collaboration and consistency in regulatory activity.

Membership of IFIAR
Members must be independent of the profession and engaged in audit regulatory functions in the public interest.

Officers and Board of IFIAR
IFIAR shall have two Officers, a Chair and a Vice Chair. They shall serve two year terms and though not a requirement, Members should give consideration to geographic balance in the election of Officers. The Officers are responsible for, though not limited to, organising and conducting Plenary Meetings, Chairing the meeting, managing communications and relationships with IFIAR Members and outside organisations, developing a Work Plan for the Officers Term and providing leadership on issues relevant to IFIAR.

Transparency and accountability
IFIAR should operate with a high degree of transparency and should engage issue periodic public reports, issue press releases and maintain a website.

Resources and Funding
IFIAR’s activities will be undertaken on a collaborative basis, with Members and Office bearers meeting their own expenses. However, Members will contribute to the funding of the organisational and administrative resources necessary for IFIAR’s ongoing operations.

IFIAR CORE PRINCIPLES

The core principles seek to promote effective independent audit oversight globally, thereby contributing to Members overriding objective of serving the public interest and enhancing investor protection by improving audit quality. IFIAR membership is not dependent on its status in implementing the principles; however members are encouraged to work towards implementing them where appropriate in their own jurisdictions. The main precondition for an effective system of audit oversight and audit regulation is the existence of a well-developed legal and corporate governance framework as to provide necessary support for high quality auditing. The IFIAR Core Principles for Independent Audit Regulators can be downloaded here.

MULTILATERAL MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING CONCERNING CO-OPERATION IN THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION FOR AUDIT OVERSIGHT

On Tuesday June 30, 2015 the MMOU was approved by the IFIAR Membership. The MMOU enables and strengthens the cooperation amongst IFIAR Members. Members can apply to sign the MMOU, and will be subject to an assessment prior to joining the MMOU. The MMOU can be downloaded here. For more information on the MMOU, including a list of signatories, please click here.

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS

Statements

IFIAR Statement on Private Equity Investment in Audit Firms
IFIAR Statement on Sustainability Assurance Oversight

Public Comments

Members’ Inspection, Annual and Other Reports

Please follow the links below to Members most recent Inspection, Annual and Other Reports:

Australia

Annual financial reporting and audit surveillance report 2022-23
Audit inspection report 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021
Audit inspection report 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020

Austria

Report on Audit Culture in Large Austrian Audit Firms

Canada

2022 Annual Report

2022 Annual Inspection Results

2021 Annual Report

2021 Annual Inspections Results

2021 Interim Inspections Results (English)
2021 Interim Inspections Results (French)

Czech Republic

Most recent Annual Reports of the PAOB

Denmark

Report on Strategy 2017-19
Press Release Accompanying Report on Strategy 2017-19

Dubai

DFSA Audit Monitoring Report 2018-19 (English)
DFSA Audit Monitoring Report 2016-17 (English)

France

Most recent Annual Reports of the H3C

Greece

Most recent Annual Reports of the HAASOB

Ireland

Most recent Annual Reports o the IAASA
Most recent Quality Assurance Review Reports

Italy

Public Statement to Statutory Auditors and Audit Firms

Given recent events in the field of crypto-assets, Consob issued on Dec. 20^th a public statement to Audit firms and statutory auditors, responsible for audit engagements of Public Interest Entities (PIEs) and Entities Subject to Intermediate Regime (ESRIs, mainly financial intermediaries), in relation with audit and assurance engagements related to companies operating in the crypto-asset sector.

Briefly, the above-mentioned public statement draws the attention of the auditors to the high risks, also in terms of anti-money laundering, connected to these activities, considering the potential professional and legal responsibilities deriving from the acceptance and performance of auditing and assurance assignments on persons who operate in the sector. The limits that the crypto-assets sector presents in terms of regulation and transparency, the interconnections that characterize the subjects who operate in it for various reasons, as well as the effects connected to the default events of primary operators in the sector, require auditors to raise the professional skepticism at the highest level.

Consob believe that, given the lack of regulation in the field of crypto-assets, also in terms of oversight of audit and assurance engagements related to companies operating in the crypto-asset sector, the public statement issued by Consob can provide useful inputs to Audit firms and statutory auditors also operating in other jurisdictions.

Japan

Most recent Annual Reports of the CPAAOB
2021 Audit Firm Inspection Case Report
2021 Monitoring Report
2020 Audit Firm Inspection Case Report
2020 Monitoring Report
2019 Audit Firm Inspection Case Report
2019 Monitoring Report
2018 Monitoring Report
2018 Audit Firm Inspection Report
2017 Monitoring Report
2017 Audit Firm Inspection Report

Malaysia

Most recent AOB Annual Reports
Most recent AOB Annual Inspection Reports

Annual Inspection Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Annual Inspection Report 2020
Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2019
Annual Report & Annual Inspection Report 2018 Press Release
Annual Report 2018
Annual Inspection Report 2018
Annual Inspection Report 2017
Enhanced Auditors’ Report – A review of first-year implementation experience in Malaysia
2017 Annual Report

The Netherlands

Position paper: Audit firms’ approach to fraud and fraud risks at audited companies
2021 Report: Grip on quality – Outcomes of the review of internal quality reviews and quality of statutory audits at PIE audit firms
2020 Report: The quality change of the Big4 audit firms assessed
2019 Report: Quality of Other PIE Audit Firms
2018 Report: Vulnerabilities in the structure of the audit sector
2017 Inspection Results: Quality change of PIE audit firms too slow

New Zealand

Audit Quality Monitoring Report
Auditor Regulation and Oversight Plan
Enhanced auditor reporting: A review of the third year of the revised auditor’s report
Audit quality – a director’s guide (Updated November 2020)

Norway

Published Inspection Reports and Letters
Published Annual Thematic Inspection Reports

Poland

English Summaries of Articles - the Annual Journal of Audit and Accounting
PANA Report on monitoring the market for audit services provided by statutory auditors and audit firms in 2022
PANA Report on Thematic Review regarding the adjustment of internal quality control systems in audit firms to the new quality management standards

PANA Selected aspects of materiality estimation, obligation of applying it in the audit and documentation
PANA Preparation for the 2022 audit
Summary of the inspections carried out by the end of June 2022 on the audit of reports in the ESEF format
Summary of the results of PANA inspections until end of June 2022 (Selected Issues in the Area of Fair Value Estimates
Selected Issues in the Audit of Financial Statements for 2021, with particular emphasis on the impact of the war in Ukraine
Thematic Inspections Report - Audits of Financial Statements of Companies Listed on Organized Equity Markets Conducted Outside the Regulated Market Using an Alternative Trading Formula

Selected Aspects of Materiality Estimation, Obligation of Application in Audit and Documentation

Singapore

ACRA Practice Monitoring Programme Public Reports

South Africa

Most recent Public Inspections Reports

Switzerland

Annual Report 2022

Annual Report 2021
Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2019

Annual Report 2018
Annual Report 2017

Thailand

Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2023
Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2022

Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2021
Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2020
Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2019
Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2018

Independent Audit Inspection Activities Report 2017

United Kingdom

Reports, Plans and Budgets
Audit Quality Indicators – AQR Thematic Review (May 2020)
Thematic Review on the Use of Data Analytics (Jan 2017)

United States

Annual Reports
Strategic Plans
PCAOB Firm Inspection Reports