Why and How Audits Must Change: Practical Guidance to Improve Your Audits - Hardcover

Houck, Thomas P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471444294 ISBN 13: 9780471444299

Publisher: Wiley, 2003

Synopsis

Here are the essential steps that accounting firms must take to improve audit quality. The author provides detailed coverage of important topics such as risk-based auditing techniques, analytical procedures, technology, and internal controls. After explaining why frequently used audit approaches are inadequate for detecting material fraud, the author:

• Provides specific and practical guidance to help auditors conduct higher quality audits
• Offers guidance to financial executives on ways to evaluate their independent audits
• Describes the steps that accounting firms must take to implement these much-needed changes

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About this title

From the Inside Flap

When recent business scandals caused the credibility of independent audits to plummet, investors and the business community largely lost faith in the ability of auditors to adequately fulfill their professional responsibilities. Despite recent legislation designed to improve audit quality in the United States, the conditions that most often lead to ineffective audits have not been adequately addressed.

Why and How Audits Must Change: Practical Guidance to Improve Your Audits describes the essential steps that accounting firms must take to improve audit quality. The author provides detailed coverage of important topics such as risk-based auditing techniques, analytical procedures, technology, and internal controls. After explaining why frequently used audit approaches are inadequate for detecting material fraud, the author:

• Provides specific and practical guidance to help auditors conduct higher quality audits
• Offers guidance to financial executives on ways to evaluate their independent audits
• Describes the steps that accounting firms must take to implement these much-needed changes

Utilizing a wealth of practical examples and case studies, the author shows today’s auditors and accounting firms how to significantly improve the overall quality of their audit engagements. He also makes a convincing case that auditing can be rewarding, exciting, and profitable. Since the techniques outlined are also applicable to government agencies and international organizations, the text will also be of significant value to auditors working in governmental and global arenas. And in today’s shaky economic climate, this book is an important resource for executives and senior management who want to take a more proactive role in ensuring the accuracy of their companies’ financial statements.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Why and How Audits Must Change

"Why and How Audits Must Change presents a fresh vision that responds to the current challenges our profession faces. Tom Houck makes a strong case that audits become dramatically more efficient and effective by engaging the minds of the audit team; he then goes the next step by laying out a roadmap for engaging those minds. Tom has a distinctive voice and knack for making his key ideas seem obvious; you end up asking yourself, why didn’t I think of that?"
–Michael C. Knowles, CPA
Partner, Frank, Rimerman & Co., LLP

"This is a must-read for anybody working on an independent audit. It’s loaded with practical recommendations and examples to improve audit quality."
–Wayne Berson, CPA
Audit Partner, BDO Seidman, LLP

"Tom’s book is must-reading for all firms!"
–Allan D. Koltin, CPA
President & CEO
PDI Global, Inc.

"Tom delivers a timely, important message to auditors about how we must change our mind-sets and audit approaches in today’s environment. Auditors in large and small firms will benefit from his easy-to-understand guidance–especially for applying the new fraud standard in the most efficient way possible."
–Susan L. Menelaides, CPA
Managing Director
American Express Tax & Business Services, Inc.
Member of the Auditing Standards Board

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0471444294
• ISBN 13: 9780471444299
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240