While 24% of audits required improvement or significant improvement, 76% of the non-public interest company audits conducted by firms regulated for audit work by ICAEW in the past 15 months reached a good standard, ICAEW Professional Standards department’s audit monitoring report has found.

ICAEW conducted reviews at 538 firms in the 15 months to March 2021. The proportion of audits in the lowest category, where significant improvement is required, declined from 8% in 2019 to 7% in 2020/21, while 17% required improvement. This did not necessarily mean that the audit opinion was incorrect, or financial statements were misstated.