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ICAA issues revised Statement of Quality Control for Firms
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, together with CPA Australia, has issued a revised Miscellaneous Professional Statement APS 5 ‘Statement of Quality Control for Firms’. The statement replaces the existing APS 4 and 5 and directly impacts all Chartered Accounting practices, particularly those conducting assurance engagements. 
 
The amendments affect the quality control standard for all public practice firms in Australia. In particular, firms should be aware of two significant amendments:

  • All firms must document their quality control policies and procedures and communicate these to the firm’s personnel 
  • Assurance practices must implement more comprehensive policies and procedures for the assurance part of the practice.
The proposed APS 5 restructures the approach to quality control, bringing it into line with a new international quality control standard for assurance practices, the International Standard on Quality Control 1 (ISQC 1). The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released the standard in February 2004 as part of ongoing efforts to encourage high quality performance by the world's professional accountants. 
 
The application date of the revised APS 5 is 31 December 2005, with a one-year transitional period for firms that do not audit disclosing entities or large superannuation funds. 
 
A new Quality Control manual is being developed to assist practitioners with the implementation of the new APS 5.  
 
For more information: 
> APS 5 (July 2005) 
> Press Release re APS 5 (27 July 2005) 
> Call for tender for new Quality Control manual  
 
History:  
> Revised APS 5 exposure draft (PDF 371KB)  
> Revised APS 5 questionnaire (PDF 159KB) 
> ISQC1 (February 2004)  
> Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia/CPAA Submission on ISQC1  
> ISQC1 Exposure Draft