The Financial Stability Board (FSB) recently held its biannual Roundtable on External Audit. The meeting, chaired by Soledad Núñez, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain, included senior representatives from FSB member authorities, regulatory bodies, audit oversight entities, and other stakeholders. Notable participants were the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB), and six major global audit networks.
Key topics discussed during the roundtable included a rise in inspection findings since 2022 and lessons from the banking turmoil experienced in 2023. Strategies to improve audit quality were also explored. Participants shared insights on both opportunities and risks posed by new technologies like artificial intelligence in external audits. Additionally, they considered implications arising from opening audit firms' capital to private equity investors.
Sustainability reporting was another focus area at the meeting. Challenges for assurance practitioners in this field were highlighted alongside progress made towards developing sustainability assurance and ethics standards. Recent accounting developments were also reviewed, including challenges related to implementing IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, banks’ provisioning for expected credit losses, and proposals concerning banks’ hedge accounting.