The SEC as a host, in association with audit regulatory agencies of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines (AARG members), organized the 10th AARG Annual Meeting with Audit Firms on 15 June 2021. This year, the representatives from Deloitte and EY Thailand also attended to share and confer on the significant audit development initiatives, and how each firm responds to the emerging challenges and issues. The meeting was followed by the 8th AARG Inspection Workshop on 17-18 June 2021 to exchange knowledge and experience in audit supervision undertakings among the AARG member countries and non-AARG audit regulatory agencies.
SEC Secretary-General Ms. Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol stated during her welcome speech on the first day of the workshop: “The SEC is greatly honored to host this year’s ASEAN Audit Regulators Group meeting. High-quality financial reports are significant in cultivating trust in the capital market. To that end, auditors play an essential role in auditing and expressing their opinion on financial reporting as required by relevant professional standards to ensure that financial reporting represents its true and fair economic substance, operational performance and is sufficiently disclosed. Consequently, investors will have relevant and sufficient information to make their investment decision appropriately. Over the past year, the capital markets across the globe encountered constant volatility and instability in various ways due in part to the global pandemic of COVID-19 and the fast-paced changes in technology. Thus, it is inevitable for auditors to adjust their methodology to respond more accurately to the changing risk landscape. Audit regulatory body also needs to follow suit by closely monitoring the growing situations to allow for an adaptive regulatory mechanism that is more effective and efficient. The seminars among the AARG members, which are held regularly, help ensure that each participating country can apply the knowledge in adapting their regulatory activities to be more fit for the situations. These efforts will result in the improvement of the overall audit quality.”
At this event, participants exchanged and conferred on numerous globally attentive issues. Among the examples are the leveraging of technology tools in audit supervision, challenges arising from the changes in professional standards, how to upskill workforce in the digital age, challenges in auditing and audit supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the roles of audit committee in elevating audit quality.