CATEGORIES
- (3) Negotiating Tax Debt and Payment Arrangements with SARS
- (2)Account / Profile
- (537)Accounting
- (2)Accounting and Finance
- (22)Audit
- (156)Auditing and Assurance
- (1)Business
- (1)Business Management
- (3)Business Rescue
- (95)CIPC
- (7)Compliance
- (18)Ethics and Professionalism
- (46)Financial Reporting
- (1)Government Funding Applications
- (4)Guides
- (1)Individuals Tax
- (19)Law
- (37)Legal and Compliance
- (2)Management
- (5)Miscellaneous
- (22)Money Laundering
- (1)Personal & Professional Development
- (2)Practice Management
- (2)Professional Ethics
- (3)Public Sector
- (145)Regulatory Compliance and Legislation
- (41)SARS Issues
- (26)Sustainability Reporting
- (33)Tax
- (1)Tax Update
- (5)Technology
- (1)Wills, Estates & Trusts
- Show All
AFC: The Role of the Auditor re Professional Skepticism
- 08 December 2025
- Audit
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The Anti-Fraud Collaboration (AFC) has published a document on The Role of the Auditor: Exercising and Maintaining Professional Skepticism.
Article:
This publication provides insights into practices, guides, and considerations that can help external auditors exercise and maintain their professional skepticism effectively during the audit.
It discusses the auditor’s responsibilities for exercising professional skepticism as required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards in the US.
Refer to our previous Alert dated 25 July 2025 on the IAASB’s guide on Professional Skepticism in the Revised Fraud & Going Concern standards.
The AFC is a collaborative effort of several organizations who contribute to advancing anti-fraud efforts across the financial reporting ecosystem. .
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) is one of the founding partner organizations that created and actively participates in the AFC, alongside other groups.
Refer to our webinar presented by Lettie Janse van Vuuren on 27 May 2025 – which sets out the importance of Professional Skepticism in South Africa, as required by the International Standards of Auditing (ISAs).
Click here to download the 19-page document:
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
- Professional skepticism is a fundamental concept in auditing.
- As an auditor and independent reviewer, you need to comply with International Standards on Auditing and other Assurance Services, and thus you need knowledge of newly revised standards that are approved as well as when they become effective.
- Failure to adhere to ISAs may be interpreted as negligence and you could be held liable.
- As an auditor and independent reviewer, you should be aware of new standards and publications (like guidance and support materials) issued by the standard-setting bodies, e.g. the IAASB, the AFC and the CAQ.