Introduction à la norme ISA 701: quelle contribution effective à l'amélioration de la transparence et de la qualité du procesus d'audit?

Abstract

For many years, the expectations of end users of accounts have differed from what auditors actually perform. A lack of information and opinions that differed from one entity to another was strongly criticized, especially since a lack of understanding still exists in the audit profession. This resulted in a lack of confidence in the judgment of the auditor. The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, IAASB therefore decided that a change was necessary. For more transparency and communication within the report, this institution has implemented the introduction of a norm, named ISA 701. This standard deals with the key points of the audit which must now be communicated in the audit’s report by auditors. Our study focuses on the ISA 701 and especially on the notion of KAM, which will be effective at the end of 2016 for public interest entities. This research highlights the contribution of ISA 701 to improving the transparency and quality of the audit process. It will then be necessary to analyze whether this standard could have an impact on the attitude of auditors, on the quality of their work and on the information communicated to the public. It is also necessary to analyze the impact on the « expectation gap » that exists between the reader and the work of the listener. We carried out a qualitative research supplemented by a small quantitative analysis. First, a review of the literature is carried out in order to build strong hypotheses on the basis of the elements found. These hypotheses can then be compared with the results found by carrying out interviews. Indeed, interviews will be carried out in order to benefit from the knowledge of experienced listeners in the subject. Our research shows that changes will indeed be made and that an impact could be possible. The results obtained by interviewing people follow the same trends. This allows us to clearly answer our initial research question. However, some recommendations and future avenues were made in order to analyze certain subjects in more depth.