The Canadian Public Accountability Board has adopted a variety of rule changes governing its relationship with the audit firms it oversees.

The changes, which are effective immediately, are intended to: clarify CPAB’s position on auditors disclosing the results of its work to clients’ audit committees;

  • establish an arbitration process between the CPAB and auditors;
  • update the wording regarding required dates for audit participation in CPAB oversight;
  • establish the date for firms to comply with quality control standards;
  • provide an approach for addressing possible conflicts between CPAB requirements and other laws; and
  • set out CPAB oversight of foreign audit firms.

    For example, the CPAB says that audit firms may not disclose the results of its reviews to the audit committees of their clients. It sets January 1 as the date for firms to have quality control standards in place.

    As well, the amended rules allow firms to take procedural matters to arbitration, but not substantive ones.

    These proposed amendments were published for comment last July. The only comment received was from a collection of auditing firms, and various revisions were made in response to their comments.

    http://www.cpab-ccrc.ca/dbdocs/421ce74da639e.pdf