What are the arrangements for overseeing the quality of audit work undertaken by the audit firms appointed by PSAA?

Firms and key audit partners must be registered with the ICAEW to provide local audit services, in accordance with the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The quality of the firms’ work will be subject to scrutiny by both the ICAEW and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The FRC and the ICAEW have their own enforcement procedures where an audit does not meet the regulators’ quality standards.

PSAA will monitor that firms maintain the appropriate registration.

The Ethical Standard issued by the FRC precludes contingent fees. A contingent fee basis includes any arrangement made at the outset of an engagement under which a specified commission on or percentage of any consideration or saving, is payable to the firm upon the happening of a specified event or the achievement of an outcome (or alternative outcomes).