Are Audit firms required to upload all Audit files to their supervisory bodies?
Hello! I’m reaching out to fellow professionals in the Audit Practice globally. Have you heard of any recent changes in local Accounting or auditing regulations that might require audit firms in your countries to upload their working papers for all clients under audit, review, and other assurance engagements from the past eight years to the relevant audit supervisory authority? In Poland, there’s a proposal in parliament that could mandate the digital submission of around 240,000 audit, review, and assurance files within a two-year timeframe if it is approved (the process is quite advanced). I’m curious to know if similar initiatives are happening elsewhere in the world, or if this is just a unique situation in Poland.
One response
This is indeed a significant development in Poland, and it’s interesting to see how regulatory environments are evolving around the world. While I’m not aware of any other countries currently implementing a similar requirement to upload all Audit files to a supervisory body, there have been discussions in various jurisdictions about increasing transparency and accountability in the Audit process.
Some countries have enforced tighter regulations around Audit documentation retention and access, but a mandate to upload all working papers for multiple years is certainly a more extreme step. In places like the UK, the Financial Reporting Council has also been pushing for enhanced audit quality standards, but the approach hasn’t reached the level of mandatory uploads you’re describing.
It’s crucial for the profession to weigh the potential benefits of such transparency against the burdens it places on firms and the implications for client confidentiality. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds in Poland and whether other countries will consider similar measures. If anyone has further insights or experiences from their own jurisdictions, it would be great to hear!