Quel est l'impact de la mise en vigueur de la norme ISA 701 (faits significatifs pour l'audit) pour les sociétés d'audit ainsi que leurs clients

Abstract

Following the various crises at the beginning of the 20th century, auditors and in particular their audit reports were highly controversial due, among other things, to a standardized layout that did not reflect the auditor's work. Critics of this report mention that in this standardized format, all opinions are similar, which limits the message conveyed by the report, nor does it pay tribute to the work of the auditors who carried out the entity audit. In recent years, investors and other stakeholders have also called for greater transparency in the disclosure of information on the audit report. In this thesis, we will analyze the impact of the ISA 701 on auditors and their clients. We will use a literature search as well as a qualitative study. During our interviews, most respondents fully supported the implementation of ISA 701, both by the auditors and the audited. They find that the information is presented more clearly than before and this should help stakeholders get a clearer view of the company's financial statements. However, some auditors, although in favor of improving transparency, mention that the improvement is limited due to laws, regulations and professional secrecy. Another interesting point raised during our study concerns the format, which remains partly standardized. Indeed, according to our respondents, this format could reduce the usefulness of the report as hoped by the standard-setter. Regarding the information gap and expectation gap, the interviewees are all convinced that KAMs allow a better interpretation of the auditor's work while reducing the information gap but the impact is small, as there will always be people who will consult the report without adequate knowledge and the additional information disclosed is only intended for a highly qualified audience.