Audit firms in the country are still producing poor audit reports, tarnishing the image of local audit firms, a survey by the Institute Certified of Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) on the quality of audit firms, has shown.
To reverse the situation in poor auditing, the ICPAU – the steering committee on audit, says the audit firms must put in measures which enable them to conduct proper auditing and produce quality audit reports.
Presenting the committee’s survey results during the accountants Practitioners’ Forum held at Imperial Royale Hotel recently, the managing Partner of Jim Roberts & Associate, Mr. Julius Tumuhimbise who is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), said the Institute’s Audit Quality Review team has made a number of revelations within the ongoing fourth audit quality review cycle during which a total of 181 audit firms were surveyed.
“We found out there is lack of partner input; limited appreciation of technical and documentation requirements; failure to devote sufficient time and attention to planning the audit, lack adherence to audit procedures,” he said.
Other reasons
Mr. Tumuhimbise said the other reasons why the local audit firms in Uganda perform poorly are: lack of standardized audit programs which lead to inconsistency, the inappropriateness of staff turnover; and poor quality control measures at the firms and engagement levels.
The Audit quality report refers to matters that contribute to the likelihood that the auditor will achieve the fundamental objective of obtaining reasonable assurance that the financial report as a whole is free of material misstatement, and ensure material deficiencies detected are addressed or communicated through the audit report.