Investigating the reporting of key audit matters within banking and insurance

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to explore the local outcomes from ISA 701 in the first few years following its introduction, focusing on its impact on the auditing profession and the local banking and insurance industries. DESIGN: A comprehensive analysis of the Key Audit Matters (KAM) reported in the 2017 and 2018 audit reports (AR), of all active banks and insurance undertakings in Malta, helped build the basis of this research project. The aim was to identify the main KAMs being reported by both sectors, and to determine any visible trends across the two-year period. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with local auditors, audit committee members (AC) and regulators of banks and insurances respectively were conducted to gauge different perspectives on the local outcomes from ISA 701. FINDINGS: This study found that there was an increased confidence when selecting appropriate KAMs, which is likely to continue to improve in the coming years; yet, auditors continue to face the challenges of limiting the extent of boilerplate reporting and avoiding the use of technical jargon. Through ISA 701, benefits were reported by both ACs and regulators: AC’s involvement in the KAM process enhanced their relationship with auditors and regulators benefited from a more thorough annual report reviewing process. Moreover, it was identified that the information gap did decrease, however in order for there to be a significant narrowing of the expectations gap, more actions need to be taken. CONCLUSION: Revising the traditional AR was a progressive step by the IAASB in an attempt to heighten the usefulness, confidence and relevance in audit and audit quality. However, KAMs will only be effective if auditors challenge the use of boilerplate reporting and continue to make insightful KAM disclosures about the audit client and the performed audit procedures to uphold the improved communicative value of the AR. VALUE: This study aims to contribute to the existing gap in local literature of the impact of KAMs on PIEs, by focusing on the disclosure of KAMs in the local banking and insurance industries.