Boosting auditor independence in non-assurance services

ISCA's new guidelines timely and critical at time of greater emphasis on audit quality, say observers

Published Thu, Oct 22, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

THE Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) on Thursday unveiled a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening audit independence in relation to the provision of non-assurance services, a move that is welcomed by observers who say is a right step towards raising audit standards.

This comes as high independence standards are vital to maintain public confidence in audited financial information. But the provision of non-assurance services to audit clients have raised concerns over auditor independence in recent years, said ISCA in a press statement.

There is also a lack of clarity when it comes to how the independence of audit firms should be assessed.

Issues often arise from the involvement in revenue-generating domains such as corporate finance, management consulting and tax services, Lawrence Loh, associate professor at the NUS Business School and director of CGIO told …