Annual_Report2014

Annual Report 2014
23 Supervision of the accountancy and auditing profession
1. Introduction
This chapter details IAASA’s activities during
the year to promote high quality regulation of
accountants and auditors through the delivery
of independent and effective supervision of the
PABs’ regulation and monitoring of their members.
The Act and Statutory Audit Directive Regulations
provide that IAASA’s principal functions relating to
the PABs include:
• granting approval of the PABs’ respective
constitutional documents and other related
rules, regulations and standards applying
to their members, and of any proposed
amendments thereto;
• supervising the operation of the PABs’
investigation and disciplinary processes and
the manner in which the RABs monitor their
members and member firms; and
• with regards to their audit members,
superintending the RABs’ systems in relation
to approval and registration, adoption of
standards, continuing education, quality
assurance and investigation and discipline.
Detailed information regarding IAASA’s functions
in respect of the PABs can be accessed on the
IAASA website.
2. Overview of supervisory activities
2.1. PABs and RABs
A PAB is an accountancy body that comes within
IAASA’s supervisory remit. There are currently
nine PABs:
• ACCA Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants;
• AIA Association of International Accountants;
• CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance &
Accountancy;
• ICAEW Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England & Wales;
• ICAI Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Ireland;
• ICAS Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Scotland;
• ICPAI Institute of Certified Public
Accountants in Ireland; and
• IIPA Institute of Incorporated Public
Accountants.
Six of the nine PABs are also RABs. A RAB is an
accountancy body that has been recognised for
the purposes of the Statutory Audit Directive
Regulations and section 187 of the Companies
Act 1990 (‘the 1990 Act’). RABs are permitted to
authorise their members/member firms to practice
as auditors. The six RABs are the ACCA, ICAEW,
ICAI, ICAS, ICPAI and the IIPA.
IAASA’s supervisory activities in relation to the nine
PABs fall broadly into the following categories:
• supervisory visits, desktop reviews and
periodic review meetings (Section 3);
• approval of the PABs’ constitutional
documents (Section 4);
• complaints handling and enquiries &
investigations (Sections 5 and 6 respectively);
• attachment of conditions to the RABs’
recognitions (Section 7); and
• the PABs’ annual return process, the results
of which are summarised in a separate
publication entitled Profile of the Profession
2014, available on the IAASA website.
• CIMA Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants;