We discussed various audit quality initiatives. An example of an audit quality initiative is the Standards Working Group of the Global Policy Committee (comprising BDO, Deloitte Touche Tomatsu, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers). The Global Policy Committee is a committee of the International Forum of International Regulators.

REQUIRED

a. Refer to https://www.ifiar.org/Working-Groups/ GPPC-Working-Group.aspx . What is this committee's mandate and what is the role of the six largest international audit networks? How do these type of groups contribute to audit quality?

b. In our chapter, much of the focus is on the individual decision maker; however, many other factors can affect professional skepticism. Download the Enhancing Professional Skepticism Report at www.thecaq.org/docs/ research/skepticismreport.pdf.

c. Discuss how factors related to the engagement team and the audit firm can impact professional skepticism.

d. What actions can engagement teams and audit firms take to mitigate the impact of those factors?