The Professional Oversight Board (POB) in conjunction with the Professional Bodies ACCA, ICAEW, ICAI and ICAS, has asked Professor Neil Marriott and a team of researchers from the University of Glamorgan to conduct a review of practical training for audit.

The survey will review:

• the practical training requirements of the Professional Bodies authorised to train and supervise auditors,
• how the Professional Bodies, authorise and monitor firms which train audit students,
• student training record requirements and the completion and monitoring of these, and
• the views of students towards on the job training they receive from their firms and exam based training.

This independent study will seek the views of current students, newly qualifieds and their mentors, who are either currently working in audit, plan to work in audit or feel they may wish to work in an audit environment in the future.

Respondents to the questionnaire will also be invited to participate in focus groups around the country to discuss issues arising from the questionnaire responses. Any comments received during this study will be treated with the strictest of confidence and will not be attributed to any individual or firm.

If you would like to share your views,

The trainee questionnaire is at:

https://surveys.lundresearch.com/trainees  

The mentor questionnaire is at:

https://surveys.lundresearch.com/mentors

All respondents will be entered into a draw for a chance to win an ipod. Closing date for responses is 31 August 2007.

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. Its functions are exercised principally by its operating bodies (the Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Practices Board, the Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the Professional Oversight Board and the Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board) and by the Council. The Committee on Corporate Governance, whose members are drawn from the Council, assists it in its work on corporate governance.
2. The Professional Oversight Board contributes to the achievement of the Financial Reporting Council’s own fundamental aim of promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. It has four main responsibilities:
   • a statutory obligation to oversee the regulation of auditors by the recognised accountancy bodies;
   • the monitoring of the quality of the auditing function in relation to economically significant entities;
   • independent oversight of the regulation of the accountancy profession by the professional accountancy bodies;
   • independent oversight of the regulation of the actuarial profession by the professional actuarial bodies.
3. The Chairman of the Professional Oversight Board is Sir John Bourn. He is the Comptroller and Auditor General.
4. The Professional Oversight Board is independent of the accountancy and actuarial professions. Its members have wide experience of business and the professions, the public sector, accountancy, auditing and actuarial work.
5. All press enquiries should be directed to Shazia Ahmad, telephone 020 7492 2340.