Recent auditing standards have significantly expanded auditors’ responsibilities related to audit evidence, documentation, risk assessment, and engagement quality. With the implementation of the AICPA’s new quality management standards, SQMS Nos. 1–3 and SAS No. 146, firms are now required to adopt a more proactive, risk-based approach to audit quality that emphasizes engagement performance, supervision, review responsibilities, monitoring, and remediation.

This course examines how audit documentation and workpaper review function as critical components of a firm’s system of quality management. Participants will explore how reviewers, engagement leaders, and audit teams contribute to audit quality throughout the engagement lifecycle, from planning and risk assessment through concluding and reporting. The course also addresses how firms can strengthen audit quality by improving review processes, enhancing professional skepticism, and ensuring sufficient appropriate audit evidence supports the auditor’s opinion.

The program incorporates the latest guidance related to SAS 142, Audit Evidence; SAS 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement; and SAS 146, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. Special attention is given to engagement quality reviews (EQRs), risk assessment documentation, linkage of risks to audit procedures, technology-enabled auditing, and common peer review deficiencies identified by regulators and the AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality initiative.

Participants will also examine emerging audit quality challenges involving technology, outsourced processes, AI-assisted audit procedures, data analytics, and evolving documentation expectations. Through practical examples and reviewer-focused guidance, the course emphasizes how effective workpaper review supports compliance with professional standards, strengthens firm quality management systems, promotes staff development, and reduces engagement risk.