Which side are they on?

Which side are they on?

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 "The role of the auditor needs to be expanded to bring extra confidence for company shareholders, according to ACCA.

The institute has held a series of roundtables with banks, auditors, regulators and other stakeholders to discuss the future of audit and many want to see a significantly enhanced role for auditors."

Full article:

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2265680/widen-scope-audit-acca

Extra confidence = scapegoat

-  anything that gets them off the hook and allows them to shirk their responsibilities!

Replies (13)

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By User deleted
08th Jul 2010 12:08
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By Albert Camus
08th Jul 2010 12:08

In my opinion...

...the various professional bodies exist as consumer groups although it is the membership that pay for the salaries of those who torment us.

This is the converse of how it should be. These bodies should be our "trade unions" there to protect us from the worst of the challenges we face.

Albert Camus

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By User deleted
08th Jul 2010 12:12

Thanks Albert

I am glad its not just me, I completely lost faith with ACCA after the UITF 40 fiasco and now completely resent my subscription.

It seems to me the ACCA higher echelons jump up and down with glee every time more red tape is added, They are like Oliver, "can we have some more please"!

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By pembo
08th Jul 2010 16:52

load of round sphericals

having just had yet another visit from ICAEW being quizzed on pointless meaningless ISA crap that has no relevance to anyone in the universe least of all our clients this will of course be a bottom up speed camera approach that leaves the real culprits who happen to run our so called "unions" and who sign off audit reports like Ernst "yeh those Lehman repos of $50 trillion are OK" & Young totally untouched...

Or am I just an ageing cynic ?

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By Steven Collings
08th Jul 2010 18:30

Regulation overload??

Somewhat, slightly 'off topic' but still relevant to possible 'regulation overload', which the above article suggests is on the cards!

I was lecturing to some accountants recently who expressed similar views to those of Pembo, and reading the article on Accountancy Age, seemingly the professional bodies are looking to put more burdensome regulations on auditors, which usually occurs following a corporate disaster (horses, doors and bolts spring to mind again).  This is not the first time I have come across practising firms of auditors and accountants who have also expressed the same concerns as Pembo - particularly with regards to compliance visits. (Incidentally, I am not referring to any of the larger bodies but smaller firms instead).

From discussions I have had with fellow practitioners, the general feeling, certainly from those at the smaller end of the scale, is that the expectation gap between regulators (the professional bodies) and those of us who are actually practising accountants/auditors working for clients is getting wider.  One delegate on a course I was hosting said that the professional institues could not  (quote) "recognise commercial reality if it hit them in the face".

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By cymraeg_draig
08th Jul 2010 19:16

Rubbish usually floats to the top

 

The problem is that those "at the top" have never actually got their hands dirty in a normal sized practice.

This is happening in many walks of life now, where people leave University having had a sheltered existance thanks to mummy & daddys money, go straight into a large multi national firm, and because the belong to the right club and play golf with the right people, they end up in exhaulted positions without having a clue what happens in the real world. 

That's why we have such rubbish management of many organistations - just look at HMRC as an example - run by someone who has never spent a day in industry, let alone on a farm. 

It really is nice when you reach my position and know that any time the mood takes you, you can tell then exactly where to stick their ridiculous subscriptions (they really should be prosecuted for taking money under false pretences).

The one hope I cling onto - for now - is that Cameron promised to "slash red tape" and "reduce the burden on businesses".  Anyone think we should hold our breathe ?????????

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By User deleted
08th Jul 2010 23:18

You missed ...

... politicians

 

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By frustratedwithhmrc
09th Jul 2010 17:33

No - we really wouldn't

If the entire Houses of Parliament with all in it vanished down a black hole, we wouldn't miss them for 1-minute.

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By User deleted
09th Jul 2010 17:47

You are too right...

I am waiting for the threatened strikes by the public sector; or is it on already? would anyone notice? - no it can be on yet everything is still taking too long :o) !

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By DMGbus
02nd Mar 2011 09:57

Practice Assurance

It would appear that ICAEW's "Practice Assurance" is a means of keeping useless jobsworths in a job and here's a recent example of the result of "Practice Assurance" "compliance":-

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Accounts Preparation Files for Non-Audit Limited CompaniesWe have carried out a review of a sample of Accounts Preparation files for non-audit limited companies, following which we have found it necessary:i)                    to clarify formal paperwork and which programmes are needed on files, and ii)                   to consider ways to reduce the amount of paper on files generally.  We are a firm of Chartered Accountants and as such we have to operate under “Practice Assurance” guidelines.  In order to ensure those guidelines are met the firm has a set of procedures which must be followed on all assignments.  Note please: all assignments – for all accounts files, by all staff, in all departments, for all partners.We appreciate that the array of forms detailed on the standard files is daunting and therefore we set out below the minimum which is required. Other forms in each section are generally only needed when prompted by these main forms. Planning:Before commencing any accounts preparation assignment the following forms must be completed: B11 (1 & 2), B12, B13, B51. We must have an up-to-date signed engagement letter on file – if in doubt check and if not prepare one for signature . During the assignment:There is a choice of Accounts Preparation Programmes to follow:Where the company’s turnover is greater than £500,000 and /or any individual Balance Sheet item is greater than £100,000, full programmes (filed in each section) must be completed. Otherwise “blank” programmes may be completed and filed in section B. Deviation to this rule is allowed only with the agreement of the engagement partner.Accounts Completion:All work programmes must be reviewed by a manager or engagement partner.All lead schedules must be signed by the engagement partner.Forms A21, A22, A25 must be completed.A Management Representation Letter must be signed and on file.A signed copy of the accounts must be in the Signed Accounts folder. In common with audit assignments we have produced a Document Compliance Review form for completion . It is not absolutely necessary that this is completed however it is a useful aide-memoir of the minimum paperwork needed on a file.If anyone has any difficulty with the above they must speak to the engagement partner before commencing any assignment.   Thank you for your assistance in complying with the above.=============================================================

"What a load of boring garbage"   A recent instance of "complying" with the above garbage / interpretation of the practice assurance garbage resulted in an extra 3 hours being spent on a small electrical contractors Ltd Co accounts.  

Sadly it's no longer a case of "just do the job"!   It's as if things are nowadays designed for "procedural robots"who know nothing about real world "how to" prepare accounts but rather are better at "ticking the boxes" and "blindly following procedure".  It no longer matters what the results are (how accurate accounts are, how good the tax advice given is), instead what matters is recording compliance with boring proceedures.

 

 

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By pembo
02nd Mar 2011 10:28

and

As time goes by it just gets worse and worse...trouble is the devil makes work etc and these guys have nothing better to do than justify their own existance...bit like Gordons extra legions of civil servants...

At our external review last year I posed a simple hypothesis. Namely that noone cares how you make that cake as long as its tastes scrummy and that the end product in terms of the final accounts for both audits/non audits would be exactly the same without any of the pointless paperwork we have to do..he agreed but etc etc.....

I'm just glad I've only got a few years to go

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By thomas34
02nd Mar 2011 12:23

Stop Moaning

and do something about it.

It's not compulsory to be a member of an RPB to make a living. So you'll probably be prevented from audit and financial services work in the first instance.

I know it's a major step to walk away from what you've known and have lived with for years and in many cases a lot of years. But after a relatively short time you'll wonder why you hadn't done it earlier. I speak from experience of having 35 years with letters after my name and handing back my certificate.

My clients, both current and prospective, really have no interest in these things. If they knew of the antics of the RPBs they'd congratulate me. Every time the RPBs open their mouths they make fools of themselves. We've had a joint request to defer the start of iXBRL for totally illogical reasons which I'm glad the Government declined. I'm reading today that the ICAS are trying to criticise HMRC for their intended Schedule 36 exercise before it's even started.

In short the RPBs couldn't run a ****-up in a brewery.

Tom Egerton

 

 

 

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By pembo
02nd Mar 2011 13:08

bit late

now for me but can see why you'd do it ...

anyway I like moaning and seeing my name in lights on the audit report .... the extra paperwork has also come in handy to justify fee rises for non audits although admittedly the horrendous losses we make on those (golf clubs arrrgh) more than make up...

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