IPE audits and inspections

Management, as well as auditors, have an obligation to test that Information Provided by the Entity (IPE) is complete and accurate to meet Auditing Standards (AS) reviews. The findings delivered by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspections raise several questions about how organizations provide evidence to auditors, including:

• What are the major challenges companies face to comply?
• Who is responsible for testing ownership?
• Do companies benchmark key IPE and if so, what does that look like?

KPMG surveyed clients in a cross-section of industries with market capitalization from $200 million to more than $300 billion to determine what comprises their respective IPE programs. We collected data related to unique IPE challenges, the range and average number of IPE that is required to be tested, testing responsibility, and other factors that ultimately hinder successful execution of the program.

Based on clients’ responses, we identified differences and similarities in how they manage their IPE. The trends presented may assist others in developing a path forward to collect appropriate evidence needed to perform and document their own procedures.

Read our new article to learn about these trends and how organizations can develop a framework to ensure that their IPE programs are accurate and compliant.

How can KPMG help?

The basic IPE principle to keep in mind when reviewing these trends is the need for management to have a process to confirm that IPE such as key reports, spreadsheets, and schedules used in executing control activities are complete and accurate.

KPMG can assist with identifying opportunities to support our clients, to build out these procedures where reasonable, or help strengthen sub-par processes that require constant rework each year. Providing our clients training at both the leadership and owner level with education on the importance of consistent and standardized IPE processes is a key part to their audit success.