Round table 2025
Roundtable with auditors of the Public Interest Entities
Regular roundtable meetings are held by PAOB to improve the quality of auditors who are performing audits of public interest entities.
In 2025, the employees of PAOB focused on traditional topics, in particular on findings identified during inspections and on auditors’ obligations towards PAOB.
The programme also included presentations by representatives of auditing firms, who addressed the following professional topics:
• audit in the first year
• gift tax and the income tax report
• audit of mergers
• ESG
• ISQM 1
Round table 2024
Roundtable with auditors of the Public Interest Entities
Regular roundtable meetings are held by PAOB to improve the quality of auditors who are performing audits of public interest entities.
The key topics of the 2024 meeting were to:
- sum up the results of the closed inspections (including results of inspections focused on information systems, IT audits, and auditors’ responsibilities in the area of information technology),
- highlight the most frequently identified and recurring findings, and
- tell the auditors the areas on which inspections will be focused on in the coming year.
In 2024, discussions continued regarding the implementation of the new quality management standards ISQM 1 and ISQM 2, including the requirement for auditors to assess their quality management systems in accordance with these standards by 15 December 2023.
The PAOB Legal Department provided updates on questions raised in practice and their publication on the PAOB website.
Round table 2023
In order to continuously improve the quality of the auditors that carry out the audits of PIE, the Inspection Committee, together with the Inspection Team, holds regular meetings with such auditors.
The sixth-round table took place in February 2023:
CONTENT
- Foreword
- Findings from 2022 inspections
- Top IT findings
- ISQM 1 and ISQM 2
- Follow-up proceedings
- Legislation
- Auditor´s information obligations
- International Cooperation
- Selected auditor´s questions
The aim of these meetings is mainly to:
- summarize the results of finalized inspections,
- draw attention to the most frequently identified or recurring deficiencies,
- discuss proposed remedial measures and to
- familiarize auditors with the areas that quality inspectors will focus on in the coming year.
In 2022, quality inspections focused, among other things, on information systems, their audit and auditor's duties in the field of information technology.
The roundtable meeting is divided into 2 groups. One of them consists of audit firms, such as BDO, Deloitte, EY, GTA, KPMG, Mazars and PwC, while the second group includes other auditors, i.e. auditors working in their own name and on own account, and other audit firms auditing at least one PIE. This split makes it possible to take into account not only the great interest of auditors in these meetings, but also the possibility of focusing in more detail on selected topics whose content is relevant to the group. For example, the companies included in the first group are monitored at EU level by the CEAOB, with which the PAOB cooperates. Selected information obtained within the framework of this cooperation is then shared at a round table with representatives of the audit firms.
New standards for quality management ISQM 1 (Quality Management for Firms that perform Audits or Reviews of Financial Statements, or Other Assurance or Related Services Engagements) and ISQM 2 (Engagement quality review) were one of the key topics discussed at the round table because ISQM 1 applies to all firms that perform audits or reviews of financial statements, or other assurance or related services engagements and the firms were required to design and implement such systems in compliance with ISQM 1 by December 15, 2022.
- On 14 and 15 November 2017, a national conference of the Czech Institute of Internal Auditors entitled "Innovations and Regulation in Internal Audit" was held in Brno. Two representatives of the Board attended the conference, they made a presentation in section A – internal audit and regulation with topics on audit committees, with a focus on: Experience with the operations of audit committees and assessment of reports on the activities of these committees that were sent to the Board in 2017 by audit committees of public interest entities and entities with the equity investment of the state.
- On 5 October 2017, a seminar was held in Brno, organised together with the Supreme Administrative Court and the Board. 34 Individual presentations of the representatives of the oversight body and professional autonomy were focused not only on the issues of the current legal regulation of the audit, but also on the clarification of basic principles and bases that are used (or should be used) in the work of every auditor. The discussion focused on a critical assessment of the EU audit reform, relationship of the autonomy and oversight, including a new competence framework following amendment No. 299/2016 Coll., and the issues of the organisation of the quality inspection system and following sanctions. The objective was to highlight the public interest in due performance of audit activities and relating necessity of preventive operations of both bodies both on the control and sanction levels.
- Between 6 and 9 June 2017, a meeting of the subgroup for inspections of the CEAOB was held at the premises of the University of Economics in Prague which was hosted by the Board. The meeting was held under the auspices of the deputy minister of finance responsible for the management of section 04 – Financial Management and Audit. This meeting was attended by approximately 80 representatives of oversight bodies from all EU member states. Principal topics of the meeting included a discussion with the European management of audit firms Deloitte, BDO and Grant Thornton, information on the findings identified during quality inspections and the work and focus of the CEAOB and sub-group for inspections.
- On 18 January 2017, the "Audit Committees" conference was held at the premises of the Supreme Auditing Office organised by the Czech Institute of Internal Auditors, the Chamber, the Czech Ministry of Finance, the Supreme Auditing Office and the Board. A representative of the Board madea presentation entitled "Publications Issued by the Board".
Lecturing Activities
During 2017, employees of the Board and representatives of the Board bodies worked as lecturers and gave lectures, for example, for the Chamber. Principal topics of lectures included the audit methodology, public interest entities, Act on Auditors and financial accounting of entities in the public sector.