The Professional Oversight Board, part of the Financial Reporting Council, has today published a report on the findings of the Audit Inspection Unit’s (AIU) inspections for 2010/11 at firms auditing ten or fewer entities within AIU scope.

This report is available on the website at http://www.frc.org.uk/pob/audit/firmreports1011.cfm and should be read in conjunction with the AIU 2010/11 Annual Report, published on 19 July and available on the website at http://www.frc.org.uk/pob/audit/reports.cfm.

A list of firms auditing ten or fewer entities within AIU scope, identifying those that had been subject to an AIU inspection by 31 March 2011, is set out in Appendix B of the Report. The AIU’s inspections at these firms are limited to a review of one or more individual audit engagements. Individual public reports are therefore not published on these firms.

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance and reporting to foster investment.
2. The Professional Oversight Board contributes to the achievement of the Financial Reporting Council’s fundamental aim of promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. It has four main responsibilities:
   1. A statutory obligation to oversee the regulation of auditors by the recognised accountancy bodies;
   2. The monitoring of the quality of the auditing function in relation to economically significant entities;
   3. Independent oversight of the regulation of the accountancy profession by the professional accountancy bodies;
   4. Independent oversight of the regulation of the actuarial profession by the professional actuarial bodies.
3. 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. The Interim Chairman of the Professional Oversight Board is John Kellas CBE.
4. The monitoring units of the professional accountancy bodies in the UK which register firms to conduct audit work are responsible for monitoring the quality of audit engagements falling outside the scope of independent inspection by the AIU but within the scope of audit regulation in the UK. They also review the policies and procedures supporting audit quality at firms auditing ten or fewer entities within AIU scope. The AIU’s inspections of firms auditing ten or fewer entities within AIU scope are therefore limited to a periodic review of one or more individual audit engagements undertaken.
5. Pess enquiries should be directed to Paul George, Director of Auditing and Director, Professional Oversight Board on 0207 492 2340.