the changes are more than just technical.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
america has a wealth of governments. they’re all over the place. municipal governments. county governments. parishes, boroughs, villages, hamlets. special purpose local governments. school districts, fire districts, tax districts. independent authorities, tribal councils and councils of governments. state governments, territorial governments and, of course, the big one in washington, district of columbia, with its thousands of branches, arms and agencies.
love them or hate them, there they are. tens of thousands of governments. and they all have one thing in common: they need to be audited.
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or, to put it another way, they need auditors.
being governments, their accounting and auditing standards are different from those of nongovernmental entities.
the generally accepted government auditing standards are detailed in a document officially titled “government auditing standards” but known to friends as “the yellow book,” its cover being the color of america’s brighter brands of mustard.
the yellow book was revised in february of this year, an update that supersedes the 2018 edition and its 2021 technical update.
and this version is more than just technical.
an update of philosophy
some of the revisions are crucial, even quietly, philosophically revolutionary.
chapter five, for example, overhauls the concept of quality control. the revised chapter, “quality management, engagement quality reviews, and peer review” replaces the old chapter five, “quality control and peer review.”
see the difference? it changes quality control to quality management.
the new guidelines emphasize the responsibility of the audit organization’s leadership to proactively manage the quality of its engagements. it requires a quality management risk assessment process for designing, implementing and operating a system of quality management.
conscientious flexibility
in one sense, the chapter five requirements demand better, more conscientious performance. but at the same time, the chapter allows conscientious flexibility, recognizing that a system of quality management will vary based on such circumstances as size, number of offices, geographic dispersion, the capabilities of personnel, the complexity of the engagement, and cost-benefit considerations.
other key changes include:
- an approach that promotes scalability of the system of quality management for auditors differing in size and complexity
- a risk-based process for achieving the objectives of quality management
- flexibility for audit organizations that also use other quality management standards to avoid the burden of designing and implementing separate systems of quality management
- promotion and tailoring of proactive monitoring activities
- provisions for optional quality management reviews
- application guidance on key audit matters for when they apply to entities that receive government assistance
the new standards are effective for periods beginning on or after december 15, 2025, with early implementation permitted. an audit organization should complete its evaluation of its system of quality management by december 15, 2026.
a digital copy of the 260-page document, “gao-24-106786 government auditing standards,” is available through the government accountability office at www.gao.gov/yellowbook.