6. Respondents’ Perceptions on Quality Control Procedures for Statutory Financial Audit: A Survey

This chapter presents an empirical study on opinions of respondents including chartered accountants (CAs) and students pursuing chartered accountancy courses on select issues (in the form of statements in a structured questionnaire) relating to the quality control procedures for statutory financial audits and draws some conclusions on this theme. The research reveals that there are 21 factors governing the quality control procedures for statutory financial audit. Of these factors, a ‘nexus with management and negligence in duty’, ‘professional scepticism and physical inspection’, ‘role of accounting firm in designing quality control procedures’ and ‘engagement quality control review’ have significant influence. The theme as a whole is organized into two distinct dimensions: (a) ‘input factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’, (b) ‘process factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’. While the majority of the CAs consulted in the survey associate with ‘process factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’, most students identify more closely with the ‘input factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’.