Helping a regional accounting firm prepare for their first-ever PCAOB inspection
Client challenge
A regional accounting firm had spent way too many years bored to tears at their annual U.S. GAAP/GAAS update training. Ready to “spice up” the course and improve engagement, they turned to GAAP Dynamics.
With our energetic, engaging delivery, we brought a whole new flavor to their formerly bland U.S. GAAP/GAAS update training. But what was intended as a one-off course ended up becoming much more.
After seeing the results when employees got a taste of better training, the firm’s risk management partner wanted to know how we could help them fry a much bigger fish: Assist engagement teams with the move from U.S. GAAS to PCAOB Auditing Standards for their audits of broker dealers.
Our solution
Before the recession, firms like our client could audit introducing broker dealers under U.S. GAAS. But with the SEC requiring firms to switch to the more stringent PCAOB auditing standards, the work became far more complex and time consuming — and our client wasn’t even sure it was worth pursuing.
We began our Advisory engagement with a training seminar explaining the new rules and how they could approach preparing for a PCAOB inspection. To help them understand the potential changes to their business, we gave concrete “real life” examples of how the move to PCAOB Auditing Standards would differ from their current audit procedures under U.S. GAAS.
Throughout the training, we kept a running “To Do” list, which included all the improvements they’d have to make to their audit process if they wanted to audit broker dealers under PCAOB auditing standards.
Their transformation
With our training and Advisory support, our client now had the insight they needed — and a tactical recipe to follow when preparing for PCAOB inspections. They knew exactly how to adjust their audit process, including changes to:
- Risk assessments
- Audit documentation requirements
- Independence monitoring
The training and advice worked so well that they not only continue to pursue work auditing broker dealers, they received minimal findings during their recent PCAOB inspection. And now, we’re proactively reviewing audit documentation — prior to PCAOB inspections — in their continual quest for performing the highest quality audits.
By listening to our client’s needs and proactively designing our services to meet those needs, rather than just delivering the same old training they were used to, GAAP Dynamics was able to help this regional accounting firm address pending regulatory changes — and improve the quality of their audits. We’re here to help you too!