Comments of the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association on the Concept Release, Potential Approach to Revisions to PCAOB Quality Control Standards

On December 17, 2019, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the Board or PCAOB) issued a request for comment on its Concept Release, Potential Approach to Revisions to PCAOB Quality Control Standards. The Board is considering revising its Quality Controls (QC) standards to focus firms on improving their QC systems. To reduce the compliance burden, the Board is considering aligning its QC standards with those of the proposed International Standard on Quality Management 1, Quality Management for Firms That Perform Audits or Reviews of Financial Statements, or Other Assurance or Related Services Engagements (proposed ISQM 1). The comment period ended March 16, 2020. This commentary summarizes the participating committee members' views on selected questions on three aspects of a QC system presented in the Concept Release: Resources (Questions 31, 32, 34, 36, 37), The Monitoring and Remediation Process (Questions 45, 46, 47), and Roles and Responsibilities of Individuals (Question 52). Data Availability: The Concept Release, Potential Approach to Revisions to PCAOB Quality Control Standards, including questions for respondents, is available at: https://pcaobus.org/Rulemaking/Docket046/2019-003-Quality-Control-Concept-Release.pdf.