Advanced Audit Staff Training: Audit Quality Management
Author: Robert K Minniti
| CPE Credit: |
2 hours for CPAs |
This advanced level course provides experienced audit professionals with a comprehensive, risk focused understanding of how to design, implement, and monitor an effective audit quality management system. Participants will explore the requirements of AICPA’s Statement on Quality Management Standards (SQMS 1 & 2), PCAOB quality control standards, and global regulatory expectations, with an emphasis on strengthening firm wide governance, risk assessment, ethics, and engagement performance.
Through real world examples, the course examines emerging risks—including technological disruption, talent constraints, increased regulatory scrutiny, and evolving stakeholder expectations—and provides practical strategies for enhancing documentation, monitoring activities, and continuous improvement processes. Attendees will gain the tools needed to elevate audit quality, minimize engagement risk, and support a sustainable culture of excellence across the firm.
Publication Date: May 2026
Designed For
This course is designed for senior‑level audit professionals and firm leaders responsible for audit quality, risk oversight, and compliance
Topics Covered
- Overview of SQMS 1 & 2, PCAOB quality control standards, and international quality management guidance
- Firm governance, leadership responsibilities, and audit quality culture expectations
- Risk assessment processes for identifying quality threats and designing responses
- Engagement performance standards, supervision, and review requirements
- Monitoring activities, root cause analysis, and remediation strategies
- Documentation expectations, quality management evidence, and common regulatory findings
- Emerging risks: technology, cybersecurity, staffing capacity, and regulatory developments
Learning Objectives
- Explain the purpose, components, and governance principles of an effective audit quality management system
- Identify risk factors that can impair audit quality and determine strategies to mitigate those risks
- Apply SQMS and PCAOB quality management requirements to firm operations and engagement performance
- Evaluate monitoring and remediation processes designed to achieve ongoing quality improvement
- Explain how to strengthen audit documentation to demonstrate compliance with professional standards and firm policies
Level
Advanced
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Auditing (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites
Intermediate understanding of auditing principles
Advance Preparation
None
