​​​Financial reporting and audit oversight

2. Auditor supervision

2.7 Independent Audit Oversight 

Principles

The dubious accounting practices employed by listed companies found in various jurisdictions raised serious concerns among capital market regulators on the quality of financial statements and more stringent quality control on audit work has been imposed to regain confidence and prevent recurrence of the problematic issue. In response to the said incidents, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued "Principle of Auditor Oversight," to its member jurisdictions, which emphasizes the independence from the accounting profession of regulatory body. The Principle was aimed at providing a guideline for IOSCO members to implement their supervisory frameworks.

Later, a number of independent audit regulators established in the course of the implementation of IOSCO's Principle of Auditor Oversight co-founded the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), a multilateral and international forum that brings together independent audit regulators from different jurisdictions. The regulatory body wishes to be a member of IFIAR shall be independence from the profession in the same way as specified by IOSCO.

To support competitiveness of Thai listed companies and improvement of financial statements to conform to the international standards, the SEC, in 2010, had revised the rules on approval of auditors by prescribing that the auditor to be approved by the SEC must be attached to audit firms that have audit quality control system in accordance with the international standard. Later in September, the SEC became a member of  IFIAR. The SEC participation in the Forum will contribute to the international recognition in supervision on auditors in Thailand and give the SEC an opportunity to share insights and practical experiences of independent audit regulatory activities​.