Improve audit quality, accountants told

AUDIT     ACCOUNTS 

Certified Accountants have been asked to improve audit quality to enable them keep up with the international standards and increase clientele.

The president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) Frederick Kibbedi asked senior partners in auditing firms to emphasise leadership, quality assurance, ethics and employment of best accounting practices.

He said the CPA council has directed the secretariat to forward names of auditing firms with disciplinary cases for determination.

"We need to take action against some of our members who compromise on quality. That's the only way a self-regulating body can demonstrate seriousness. The public believes we are doing good in our business advisories and that should be protected by ethics," Kibbeddi said.

He said improving audit quality and the constituency of audit execution is essential in maintaining confidence in an independent assurance accounting sector.  

 Kibeddi who was speaking at the practitioners' forum in Kampala counselled accountants to be professional and uphold ethics and integrity virtues to remain competitive in a digitalized world.

The forum discussed issues that will keep the practitioners abreast of current and emerging developments, especially in technology, ethics, and accountability. They also explored various ways of responding to technological disruptions and emerging client needs and equipped with strategies for improving the quality of audits.

In his presentation on improving audit quality, Julius Tumuhimbise noted that a weak brand value affects business and clientele growth.

He said 93% of the auditing firms are failing to meet the basic required standards. A total of 101 auditing firms require significant improvement, 67 require some improvement with only 6 firms out of 181 satisfactorily meeting the requirement.

According to Tumuhimbise, the poor performance is attributed to lack of senior partner input, limited appreciation of technical and documentation, lack of adherence to audit procedures.

Others include inadequate staffing, poor quality control measures, staff turnover among others.

Addressing participants, Makerere University Associate Prof.Winifred Tarinyeba Kiryabwire said with technological advancement, ethical judgment remains the job of professional accountants.

Kiryabwire who is also a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) which promotes ethical standards and guidance for professional accountants urged accountants on fairness and transparency.

ICPAU is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) as well as being a founder member of the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA).

 ICPAU has over 3,000 registered members and over 8,000 active students going through the Institute's examinations scheme at various levels of completion.

In pursuance of functions enshrined in the Accountants Act, ICPAU, issues practicing certificates to accountants that would like to offer services to the public, conducts continuous professional education to ensure that members keep up to date with the developments in the profession.

It also sets examinations for the aspiring accountants who will gradually become certified public accountants of Uganda (CPAU), and does whatever is required of the accountancy profession with due regard to public interest.