The key theme that emerges from this research is that audit committee chairs (ACCs) have different views on, and approaches to, audit quality.
During the interviews, ACCs offered a range of understandings of what was expected from them in relation to audit quality and while many commented on how they or their committees assessed quality throughout the entire audit, this was not always the case. Often the ACCs expressed a desire to improve their understanding of what makes a good audit, and particularly called for clarity on the scope of audit to aid them in this. Such findings suggest that while some audit committees may be very focused on the quality of an audit, there could be inconsistencies in how they go about promoting audit quality. This lends weight to proposals for reforms in the audit sector, including the introduction of standards for audit committees.
