Audit and Assurance Supplement 2023
Audit advisory and Assurance service lines need greater investment for growth, in response to regulatory and public and private sector market demands to meet over-arching Sustainability goals. The accounting profession needs to accelerate its investment in training to skill subject matter experts, that must compete in a fragmented market of consultants.
The accounting industry is in the best position to seize the opportunities in the changing requirements for ESG reporting and particularly within the banking sector, needing certifications from corporates for their risk assessments, against lending.
The digital era is also posing threats to business platforms, processes, identity, privacy and all manner of digital assets. Assurance services can provide the checks and attestations needed to verify and prove by Assurance certifications that claims are authentic. As trusted advisors, audit firms are well versed in analysing data to take up these challenges to create confidence in the market.
In IAB’s Audit and Assurance supplement 2023, do read my interview with Kevin Dancey, CEO, International Federation of Accountants on IFAC’s global approach to sustainability standards and his view on reducing the risk of regulatory fragmentation; IAB reporter Santiago Bedoya-Pardo looks at The Crucial Role of Audit and Assurance in ESG Reporting: Driving Sustainability and Stakeholder Trust; Daxin Global’s COO, Yue Hong reports on the state of international convergence of China’s new auditing standards system and its engagement with the PCAOB, and offers a case study that demonstrates client success; Doron Rozenblum and Herbert M. Chain at Kreston explain that accounting and attestation of digital assets are essential functions for businesses to provide financial transparency and compliance; there is a further case study highlights by Kreston that describes steps within a SOC 1 Type II and a SOC 2 Type II (System and Organisations’ Control) engagement for a digital asset technology firm; AICPA® & CIMA®: provide Thought Leadership on the topic of ESG and Assurance preparedness pointing to pressure from investors and other key stakeholders to implement and report on ESG, as companies urgently require expertise to help them shift the dial on sustainability reporting; a further case study offered highlights the benefits of Apprenticeships to address the US finance talent shortage; I speak to new partner at Mazars, Micehlle Olckers, Assurance leader about her role and strategy to build capacity and develop policy delivery; experts at Tolley, tax intelligence provider, tell of a shift in demand towards tax advisory; and, finally, Charles Story and Melissa Johnson at Rehmann point to accuracy, reliability and transparency of financial information as the cornerstones for protecting corporate marketplace reputation.
We look forward to hearing your views and collaborating in future.
Zoya Malik
Editor-in-Chief, Financial Services Practice, GlobalData & Editor, International Accounting Bulletin
zoya.malik@globaldata.com