I wrote this original post over four years ago before I was hired for my current position at Peerless; you can find the link to the posts HERE and below. Having completed a recent, now called ITGC for SOX, audit, the content is as relevent today as it was then.
I find it facinating at how increasingly prescritive the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) is becoming in the assessment over internal controls. If you were to read over the AS5 guidance, there is a fair amount of flexibility built in to an auditors ability to make judgements on their client's engagements.
But over the last several years, I'm finding that internal controls audits are becoming increasingly more about form over substance. I'm not being critical of any one professional services firms, I'm making my judgements as a matter of general observation…
That said, it's interesting that Grant Thorton published a survey early in 2013 of 243 Corporate General Counsels, that specifically citing increasing pressures of regulatory compliance and corresponding litigation, rather than competition, are the biggest threats to growth in US companies.
Here's a link to the survey:
In house counsels more concerned with regulators than competitors.
Link to the original post:
The Two Biggest Lies Told During an Audit…