Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- A new study looks at how auditors detect, resolve, and deal with material misstatements in financial statements.
- Approximately 9% of public company and 15% of private company audits have material misstatements identified.
A new study sought to understand how financial statement auditors identify, resolve, and handle material misstatements (MMs) in companies’ financial statements. The study, titled “Audit Partners’ Role in Material Misstatement Resolution: Survey and Interview Evidence,” surveyed 462 audit partners to gain insights into the audit process. The research was conducted by Eldar Maksymov, Mark Peecher, Andrew Sutherland, and Joseph Weber. The study revealed several key findings:
Firstly, auditors identify MMs in around 9% of public company and 15% of private company audits. This means that MMs are often detected and corrected before financial statements are issued to the public. Secondly, many MMs occur in accounts with high subjectivity, such as company investments or goodwill impairment, making them challenging to audit. Auditors often involve specialists in these cases. Thirdly, audit partners rely on their relationship with management and may involve the national office and audit committee in resolving MMs.
Partners differentiate between rapport and close relationships with management to maintain independence, emphasizing the importance of effective communication. Audit firms tend to avoid being overly punitive towards partners when MMs are detected post-issuance to encourage honesty and maintain a culture of admitting mistakes for better audit quality. The study underscores the value of audits in preventing financial fraud and the importance of demanding high-quality audits from regulators and auditors.
In conclusion, the study sheds light on the unseen aspects of financial statement audits and emphasizes the importance of maintaining honesty, communication, and audit quality in the accounting profession.
