The Center for Audit Quality has published the In-Depth Guide to Public Auditing.
The booklet is designed for investors and others interested in understanding the external audit process for public companies and role the audit plays in our capital markets.
The In-Depth Guide to Public Company Auditing provides more detail about the audit process than the CAQ’s 2009 Guide to Public Company Auditing, which serves as an introduction and overview of public company auditing.
“The CAQ’s continuing dialogue with individual investors indicates that many in the marketplace do not fully understand the scope of the audit process and the responsibilities placed on public company auditors,” said CAQ executive director Cindy Fornelli in a statement. “The In-Depth Guide to Public Company Auditing will help to bridge that information gap. The new guide describes how a public company audit firm decides to accept a new audit engagement, how it assesses the risk that the financial statements contain material misstatements as part of determining the audit’s scope, and then how the auditors perform and report their findings – all in plain English.”
“The guide will inform our future investor education initiatives,” Fornelli added. “Last month, we launched the “For Investors” section of our Web site that provides information about auditing and links to financial literacy resources. We are planning to develop additional investor educational initiatives in the coming months.”
The guide can be accessed at
