"For new accountants, the focus on documentation can be a difficult transition — the world of texting, Facebook postings, and tweeting may not fully prepare you. And, of course, communication skills are important even beyond the accountant's documentation of audit procedures. Being able to express yourself effectively is key to your relationships with your co-workers and supervisors, clients, potential clients and many others. Verbal communication is a large part of this. Whether presenting before a large group like this, or sitting down with a member of the accounting staff of an audit client, making your point effectively is critical. I remember being a young staff accountant, going through a questionnaire with a client, and keeping my fingers crossed that I would not be asked to clarify or rephrase a standard question! The ability to do just that, though, is a sign that the person understands the subject matter, can provide context, and, most importantly, can tell when an answer just doesn't make sense." Jay Hanson, "A Call to Action for Future Auditors" [PCAOB]
Related Posts
We Might Have New PCAOB Member Nominees Soon, Someday, Maybe
Just keeping it warm. Dave Michaels reports at The Wall Street Journal that SEC Chairman […]
RSM US Finally Might Be Taking Audit Quality a Little More Seriously, According to 2021 PCAOB Inspection Report
Based on the 2021 PCAOB inspection reports we’ve reviewed so far, the audit firm that […]
In Case the Tryptophan Doesn’t Work, Here Are the KPMG and PwC PCAOB Inspection Reports for Your Reading Pleasure
Actually, if you’re in to this sort of thing, it could make for some pretty interesting reading.
We pointed to a couple of reports this morning (and there are more) out there on the Board’s criticisms of the two firms, so we won’t repeat them here. The most notable thing seems to be each firm’s response to the report. KPMG went with the standard three-paragr��������������������er that promises that they’ll suck less at auditing in the future.
But as Floyd Norris pointed out, PwC’s Chairman and Senior Partner Bob Moritz as well as Assurance Leader Tim Ryan put their names on the firm’s response to the Board’s inspection that outlined what steps were being taken to improve the audit quality, which is a first. The firm also released this statement from BoMo, acknowledging the slight uptick in deficiencies:
PwC is built on our reputation for delivering quality. We also recognize that the role we play in the capital markets requires consistent, high-quality audit performance. We therefore are focused on the increase in the number of deficiencies in our audit performance reported in the 2010 PCAOB inspection over prior years. We are working to strengthen and sharpen the firm’s audit quality, including making investments designed to improve our performance over both the short- and long-term.
2011_PricewaterhouseCoopers_LLP
So you can all this – signatures, action plans, etc. – for what it’s worth but the messaging has certainly changed and it differentiates PwC from KPMG. Will have to wait and see if Deloitte or E&Y follow suit.