Audit regulation should be global: IOSCO

Nations should work together to better oversee auditors, an international group of regulators has said.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has called for its members, comprising some of the world’s leading regulators, to provide “the fullest assistance permissible in efforts to examine or investigate matters in which improper auditing may have occurred and on any other matters relating to auditor oversight”.

The comment was made in the body’s Principles on Cross Border Supervisory Cooperation, released today.

In the document the body also raised concerns about foreign-based subsidiaries warning that “the auditor for the overall organisation must review and opine on the accuracy of the organisation’s consolidated financial statements when it itself did not conduct an audit of all of the organization’s components.”

“Under such a situation, problems can arise if an audit failure occurs at the local level and the parent auditor is unaware of the failure,” the report stated.

Further reading:

IOSCO Publishes Principles on Cross Border Supervisory Cooperation

UK audits beyond reach of US regulators