Audit Engagement Quality Review Training Course

Course Introduction

Audit Engagement Quality Review Training Course provides an advanced and practical framework for professionals responsible for performing, supervising, reviewing, or strengthening the quality of financial statement audit engagements. The course focuses on the independent and objective evaluation of significant judgments, audit evidence, engagement documentation, risk assessments, conclusions, and reporting decisions to help ensure that audit engagements meet applicable professional requirements and maintain a consistently high level of quality.

The course examines the role of engagement quality review within the broader audit quality management framework and explains how an effective review should operate throughout the engagement rather than becoming a final-stage compliance exercise. Participants explore how engagement quality reviewers evaluate significant risks, materiality, fraud considerations, complex accounting matters, significant estimates, difficult judgments, consultations, misstatements, going concern considerations, and other matters that could materially affect the audit conclusion.

A major component of Audit Engagement Quality Review Training Course is developing the ability to challenge engagement team judgments objectively and constructively. Participants learn how to evaluate whether significant judgments are appropriately supported by sufficient and appropriate audit evidence, whether contradictory evidence has been adequately considered, and whether the engagement team has maintained professional skepticism. The course emphasizes the distinction between reviewing documentation for completeness and performing a meaningful quality review that assesses the substance of important audit decisions.

The course also explores practical techniques for reviewing audit planning, risk assessment, materiality, internal control evaluations, substantive procedures, sampling, analytical procedures, audit estimates, related parties, fraud risks, specialists, group audits, and other complex engagement areas. Participants learn how to identify gaps between assessed risks and audit responses, evaluate the resolution of significant findings, challenge unsupported conclusions, and determine whether additional procedures or consultation are necessary before the audit report is finalized.

Audit Engagement Quality Review Training Course addresses documentation, consultation, supervision, engagement team communication, unresolved matters, independence, objectivity, reviewer competence, and evidence of review. Participants examine common weaknesses that can undermine the effectiveness of engagement quality reviews, including superficial review procedures, insufficient challenge, late identification of significant matters, inadequate documentation of reviewer involvement, and failure to resolve disagreements before report release.

The course concludes with emerging quality review challenges associated with data analytics, artificial intelligence, automated audit procedures, remote engagement teams, digital evidence, complex financial instruments, sustainability-related information, cybersecurity, and increasingly sophisticated financial reporting environments. Through practical case studies and simulated review exercises, participants develop the ability to perform rigorous engagement quality reviews, identify significant issues, communicate review findings effectively, and support high-quality audit conclusions and reporting decisions.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Engagement quality reviewers responsible for reviewing significant audit engagements.

• Audit partners and directors responsible for engagement quality, technical consultation, and final audit conclusions.

• Audit managers and senior auditors involved in engagement supervision and quality review processes.

• External auditors seeking advanced skills in reviewing complex audit engagements.

• Audit quality and professional practice professionals responsible for monitoring engagement quality.

• Internal quality reviewers and assurance professionals evaluating audit documentation and significant judgments.

• Internal auditors seeking deeper knowledge of external audit quality review practices.

• Technical accounting and auditing specialists supporting complex engagement consultations.

• Audit committee members and governance professionals seeking insight into audit quality and significant engagement judgments.

• Finance professionals working with auditors on complex financial reporting and audit matters.

• Professionals responsible for audit methodology, quality management, inspection readiness, or professional standards.

• Group audit professionals reviewing complex multinational and multi-component engagements.

• Specialists involved in valuation, actuarial, taxation, information technology, financial instruments, or other technical audit areas.

• Audit firm leaders responsible for strengthening engagement quality management and review processes.

• Consultants and assurance professionals seeking advanced knowledge of audit engagement quality review techniques.

Course Objectives

• Develop an advanced understanding of the purpose, principles, responsibilities, and methodology of audit engagement quality reviews.

• Evaluate whether significant audit judgments are supported by sufficient and appropriate evidence and appropriately documented.

• Assess the effectiveness of audit planning, risk assessment, materiality, fraud evaluation, and responses to significant risks.

• Apply rigorous review techniques to complex accounting matters, estimates, valuations, going concern assessments, and significant disclosures.

• Evaluate whether professional skepticism has been appropriately demonstrated throughout significant areas of the audit engagement.

• Identify gaps between assessed audit risks and the nature, timing, and extent of procedures performed by the engagement team.

• Assess the quality, relevance, reliability, and sufficiency of audit evidence supporting significant conclusions and reporting decisions.

• Review how engagement teams address contradictory evidence, audit adjustments, control deficiencies, unresolved matters, and significant consultations.

• Strengthen the documentation of engagement quality review procedures, significant discussions, challenges raised, resolutions, and final reviewer conclusions.

• Evaluate the objectivity, competence, independence, timing, and scope of the engagement quality reviewer’s work throughout the engagement.

• Assess emerging quality risks arising from technology, artificial intelligence, data analytics, remote auditing, complex financial reporting, and digital evidence.

• Apply engagement quality review techniques through practical case studies designed to simulate challenging audit judgments, review findings, resolution processes, and final reporting decisions.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Audit Engagement Quality Review

• Understanding the purpose, objectives, scope, and fundamental principles of engagement quality reviews.

• Distinguishing engagement quality review responsibilities from engagement partner, manager, preparer, and technical consultation responsibilities.

• Understanding how engagement quality review contributes to audit quality, professional skepticism, evidence evaluation, and reliable reporting.

• Identifying the characteristics of an effective review and distinguishing substantive quality review from administrative or compliance-focused review.

Module 2: Engagement Quality Reviewer Role and Responsibilities

• Defining the responsibilities, authority, competence, objectivity, independence, and timing requirements of the engagement quality reviewer.

• Evaluating whether the reviewer has sufficient experience, technical knowledge, industry understanding, and authority to challenge significant engagement judgments.

• Establishing appropriate reviewer involvement throughout planning, execution, completion, and reporting stages of the audit.

• Maintaining appropriate objectivity while communicating constructively with engagement teams and resolving significant review matters.

Module 3: Engagement Acceptance, Independence and Quality Risks

• Evaluating engagement acceptance and continuance matters that may create significant quality, independence, ethical, or reputational risks.

• Reviewing independence considerations, conflicts of interest, non-audit services, relationships, and other threats relevant to engagement quality.

• Assessing whether identified acceptance and continuance risks have been appropriately addressed before significant audit work proceeds.

• Evaluating whether changes in engagement circumstances create new quality, independence, or professional responsibility concerns.

Module 4: Review of Audit Planning and Risk Assessment

• Evaluating whether the audit strategy appropriately reflects the entity’s business, industry, financial reporting environment, and significant risks.

• Reviewing identification and assessment of risks at financial statement and assertion levels, including significant and fraud-related risks.

• Assessing whether planned audit responses are appropriately linked to identified risks, assertions, materiality, and expected evidence.

• Challenging risk assessments when emerging information, contradictory evidence, or changes in business circumstances indicate that risks may be understated.

Module 5: Materiality and Audit Scope Review

• Evaluating the rationale for overall materiality, performance materiality, and other thresholds used during the engagement.

• Assessing whether materiality judgments appropriately consider quantitative and qualitative factors affecting financial statement users.

• Reviewing the implications of materiality for audit scope, sampling, testing, misstatement evaluation, and reporting decisions.

• Determining whether changes in financial performance, identified misstatements, or engagement risks require reassessment of materiality.

Module 6: Review of Significant Risks and Audit Responses

• Evaluating whether significant risks have been appropriately identified, documented, communicated, and addressed through effective audit procedures.

• Reviewing responses to revenue recognition, management override, fraud risks, related parties, complex transactions, and other high-risk areas.

• Assessing whether audit procedures are sufficiently persuasive, appropriately designed, and adequately documented to address significant risks.

• Identifying situations where additional testing, consultation, specialist involvement, or expanded procedures may be necessary.

Module 7: Evaluation of Audit Evidence and Professional Skepticism

• Assessing whether sufficient and appropriate evidence supports significant audit conclusions and reporting decisions.

• Evaluating the reliability of evidence obtained from management, third parties, internal systems, specialists, analytics, confirmations, and other sources.

• Challenging contradictory evidence, unsupported explanations, unexpected results, and assumptions that may indicate management bias.

• Determining whether the engagement team has demonstrated appropriate professional skepticism when evaluating significant matters.

Module 8: Review of Accounting Estimates and Complex Judgments

• Evaluating audit work relating to fair values, impairment, provisions, expected credit losses, revenue estimates, pensions, and other significant estimates.

• Reviewing management assumptions, valuation models, source data, estimation uncertainty, sensitivity analysis, and specialist involvement.

• Assessing whether audit procedures appropriately challenge management bias and provide sufficient evidence regarding significant judgments.

• Reviewing the consistency of estimates and assumptions with market information, historical experience, business plans, and other audit evidence.

Module 9: Review of Fraud, Going Concern and Related Parties

• Evaluating the engagement team’s assessment of fraud risks and responses to management override, unusual transactions, and financial reporting manipulation.

• Reviewing going concern assessments, cash flow forecasts, financing arrangements, covenant compliance, and mitigating factors.

• Assessing related-party identification, disclosure, transaction testing, and risks associated with undisclosed relationships.

• Challenging conclusions where fraud indicators, liquidity pressures, unusual transactions, or related-party matters remain insufficiently resolved.

Module 10: Review of Audit Documentation and Significant Findings

• Evaluating whether audit documentation clearly supports significant judgments, procedures performed, evidence obtained, and conclusions reached.

• Identifying gaps between audit documentation and the actual work performed or conclusions communicated by the engagement team.

• Reviewing significant findings, proposed adjustments, control deficiencies, scope limitations, and unresolved audit differences.

• Ensuring that important matters are appropriately escalated, consulted upon, resolved, and reflected in the final engagement documentation.

Module 11: Consultation, Specialists and Technical Matters

• Evaluating whether difficult or contentious accounting and auditing matters have been appropriately identified for consultation.

• Reviewing the use of valuation specialists, actuaries, tax specialists, information technology experts, and other technical professionals.

• Assessing whether specialist competence, objectivity, methods, assumptions, source data, and conclusions have been appropriately evaluated.

• Determining whether consultation conclusions have been properly implemented and reflected in the final audit approach and reporting decisions.

Module 12: Group Audits and Component Quality Review

• Reviewing group audit strategies, significant component identification, component materiality, and the scope of component auditor involvement.

• Evaluating the competence, independence, communication, instructions, and work performed by component auditors.

• Assessing component findings, misstatements, control deficiencies, significant judgments, and unresolved matters affecting group-level conclusions.

• Determining whether sufficient evidence has been obtained across the group to support the overall audit opinion.

Module 13: Technology, Data Analytics and Emerging Quality Risks

• Evaluating the quality and reliability of audit procedures using data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, and continuous auditing tools.

• Reviewing technology-dependent audit evidence and assessing risks involving data completeness, accuracy, system interfaces, algorithms, and automated outputs.

• Assessing emerging audit quality risks associated with cybersecurity, cloud systems, digital assets, complex models, and technology-enabled financial reporting.

• Determining whether engagement teams have appropriately challenged technology-generated evidence and maintained professional judgment.

Module 14: Reviewer Challenge, Communication and Issue Resolution

• Developing effective techniques for challenging engagement teams on significant judgments while maintaining professional objectivity and constructive communication.

• Documenting review comments, significant discussions, disagreements, consultations, responses, and final resolutions in an appropriate manner.

• Evaluating whether engagement teams have adequately addressed reviewer questions before the audit report is released.

• Escalating unresolved matters through appropriate technical, quality, governance, or engagement leadership channels.

Module 15: Final Review, Audit Reporting and Release Readiness

• Performing final engagement quality review procedures before the audit report is dated and released to intended users.

• Evaluating whether significant judgments, audit evidence, misstatements, going concern matters, subsequent events, and reporting considerations are appropriately resolved.

• Reviewing the proposed audit opinion and related communications for consistency with the evidence and conclusions reached during the engagement.

• Determining whether outstanding quality review matters have been appropriately resolved and documented before report release.

Module 16: Integrated Audit Engagement Quality Review Case Study

• Performing a complete engagement quality review of a complex simulated audit involving significant risks, estimates, fraud indicators, and difficult accounting judgments.

• Reviewing audit planning, risk assessments, materiality, evidence, documentation, specialist work, misstatements, consultations, and proposed audit conclusions.

• Identifying deficiencies and challenging unsupported judgments while documenting review comments and evaluating engagement team responses.

• Presenting a final quality review conclusion and demonstrating how effective challenge, evidence evaluation, consultation, and resolution contribute to audit quality.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.