Audit Quality

The Office’s system of quality management promotes recognition to staff that quality is essential in audit work. It helps ensure the Office and staff comply with professional standards and legal requirements. It also ensures that the Office’s audit reports are reliable. The Office’s internal documentation, training materials, and staff appraisal procedures ensure staff are aware of and adhere to the Office’s quality management policies and procedures, and reinforce the view that quality is essential in its audit work.

The Office’s system of quality management includes establishing quality objectives, assessing risks to achieving those objectives, and implementing quality management processes responsive to those risks. The Office has documented and communicated to staff effective quality management policies and procedures. These address the following elements: quality risk assessment, governance and leadership responsibilities for quality within the Office, ethical requirements including independence, acceptance of specific assurance work, resources (human, technological, and intellectual), engagement performance, and quality monitoring.

To continuously improve the quality of its work, the Office is subject to periodic external quality reviews of its audit practices performed by CPA Saskatchewan, as well as periodic peer reviews performed by other members of the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors—(CCOLA). The Office reports the results of these external reviews in its Annual Report on Operations each year.

The Office also conducts an annual internal quality review of its audit practice through a quality management system review program that is designed to meet the quality management monitoring elements required by professional assurance standards.

Furthermore, the Office reviews and assesses the annual summary results of CPA Saskatchewan inspections to identify areas for further improvement to its audit processes. CPA Saskatchewan publishes a summary of its practice inspections findings in its Focus on Firms newletter annually. CPA Saskatchewan inspects more than 100 firms annually.

The Office uses the results of its periodic external quality reviews, annual internal quality management system reviews, and CPA Saskatchewan’s annual summary results to identify areas for improvement. It revises its quality risk assessments, policies, procedures, and guidance accordingly. It uses ongoing communications and training to make sure staff are aware of and understand the changes.