Jun 28, 2024
We are pleased to share with you the article "Setting and Reinforcing Tone at the Top to Achieve Quality Audits", published by the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) on 27 June 2024. This article emphasizes the crucial role of leadership in setting a tone at the top that promotes ethical behavior, integrity, and a commitment to audit quality.
Establishing and sustaining an ethical and compliance culture within audit firms is vital for safeguarding audit quality and the wider public interest. The article highlights how a consistent and strong tone at the top positively influences the engagement team, ensuring they align with the desired values and reflect them in their audit work. It also emphasizes the importance of prioritizing professionalism over commercialism and the role of professional skepticism in advancing audit quality.
The article also provides recommendations for the leadership of audit firms, audit committees, and management of companies to set and reinforce the right tone at the top.
We encourage you to consider the recommendations and apply them in your professional practice to drive behavioral change, nurture a quality-focused culture, and safeguard audit quality, thus contributing to the credibility and trustworthiness of the audit profession.