Quality control standards

Key Points

• On 1 January 2010 both ASQC 1 and APES 320 came into effect
• Essentially these standards are the same
• Tools can help you compare the standards

On 1 January 2010 both the AUASB’s new quality control standard, ASQC 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Reports, Other Financial Information, and Other Assurance Engagements, and the APESB’s revised quality control standard APES 320 Quality Control for Firms came into effect.

Essentially these standards are the same, so an assurance practice complying with revised APES 320 will also be complying with ASQC 1. The articles below explain the new standard: ASQC 1, and how practices can apply both APES 320 and ASQC 1.

• New quality control standard – ASQC 1 
• Applying ASQC 1 and APES 320 
• Controlling audit quality - Charter (December 2009)

 The following tools are provided to assist in a comparative analysis of the two standards:

• Interactive html document allowing direct comparison of individual paragraphs from the two standards (click to download zip file). 
• Tables of paragraph numbers showing which paragraph of APES 320 equates to which paragraph of ASQC 1 (excel spreadsheet).

Article last updated 31 May 2011