The Auditors Institute has announced the establishment of its Peer Review Panel, which members can now access on its website.
According to the professional body, the initiative has been set up to ensure compliance with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, ASAE 3100, covering compliance engagements, ASAE 3000, covering assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information, and Guidance Statement 009, which deals with the auditing of SMSFs.
In doing so, the Peer Review Panel is aimed at the highest standards of audit quality.
The panel enables auditors to connect with qualified reviewers if they need to engage an independent Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)-approved SMSF auditor with the required expertise.
Audit peer review in Australia is a critical quality assurance process designed to ensure impartiality, objectivity and adherence to professional standards, particularly for financial and statutory audits, across a range of industries.
The institute’s Peer Review Panel currently lists four professionals from whom auditors can request reviews either directly or via the organisation’s request form. The industry body states they have been identified as suitable for inclusion on the panel based on the information provided in their application. Fees for reviews are also to be negotiated directly between the peer reviewer and the engaging party.
Peer reviews are sometimes mandated by ASIC and the ATO for auditors identified as high risk or who have not met their obligations.
They also play a role in helping auditors strengthen the quality of their processes by assuring adherence to technical, professional and ethical standards, and also mitigate independence threats.
“Internal reviews can be compromised by self-interest or intimidation risks and reciprocal audit arrangements (auditors reviewing each other’s funds) breach independence requirements,” the institute said.
It also reminded members while ASIC is responsible for the registration and regulation of SMSF auditors and can impose conditions such as mandatory peer reviews, the ATO can also refer cases of auditor misconduct or independence breaches to the corporate regulator for enforcement.
