The role of audit is currently under heightened scrutiny, with the global financial upheaval of the past three years seeing commentators questioning the value of large company audit.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) believes it is vital for the accountancy profession to reflect on such critical issues as:
• re-examining the role of audit; and,
• considering whether a sufficiently strong case is being put forward of the benefits audit can provide businesses, the economy and society
The ACCA will host a roundtable on audit to facilitate discussion on concerns about the standard of auditing locally and, provide options for improving standards and enhancing stakeholder confidence. The event, which will discuss the role of audit in enhancing confidence in financial reporting, will be held on May 25 Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre from 8 am to 4 pm. There will be presentations from Roger Acton, ACCA regional director Europe and Americas, and Chas Roy Chowdhury, ACCA head of taxation.
The roundtable will look at such questions as:
1. Does the audit as currently framed enhance stakeholder confidence?
2. The professional and ethical standards of auditors in T&T.
3. Do auditors need to work more closely with oversight bodies and regulators?
The day's second session will look at whether the audit, as currently framed, enhances stakeholder confidence, which will be chaired by Vishnu Maharaj, a fellow member of the ACCA. The discussion will include Robert Alleyne, KPMG partner, audit, looking at the role of the auditor; Wainwright Iton, chief executive officer of the TTSE, doing a presentation on the stakeholder value of what auditors do; Derek Mohammed, partner, audit and assurance at Deloitte, speaking on enhancing the value of audit. There will also be presentations from the T&T Stock Exchange (TTSE), the Central Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of T&T (ICATT). Carl Hiralal, Inspector of Financial Institutions at the Central Bank, will look at the relationship between auditor of public interest entities, in a session that will be chaired by Christine Sahadeo, former finance minister and now a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies.