Audit quality | OROC plays an irreplaceable role
The Statutory Auditors (ROC) are meeting today at their 13th Congress to reflect on the new paths of the profession. The debate brings together the government, supervisors, professional associations and academics to reflect on the new challenges facing auditing, the plurality of solutions and the role of auditors in the transparency and trust of the information provided.
Lisbon, September 12th, 2019 - The Forum Lisboa is today the venue for the 13th Congress of Statutory Auditors. The event, organized by Order of Statutory Auditors (OROC) addresses development and new technologies, cybersecurity and globalization, in a context where auditing has a fundamental mission to guarantee the transparency, accuracy and quality of the information made available to the public. stakeholders on the market.
The importance of audit quality was central to the message delivered by the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs. António Mendonça Mendes stressed “the irreplaceable role of the Order of Statutory Auditors in guaranteeing the quality of auditing activities. The commitment to audit quality depends on the level of competence of each statutory auditor. But it also depends on their degree of independence and their adherence to strict ethical criteria. We need and have rigorous, credible and trustworthy professionals who, through their professionalism, create value for companies and society.”
It also reinforced the OROC's action as a “a key element in improving the technical and ethical skills of Statutory Auditors, in accordance with the best international practices, from the conditions of access to the profession that ensure excellence to the definition of technical guidelines or the code of conduct, while also ensuring that everyone is prepared for the challenges of globalization and the digital age.”
The President of OROC, José Rodrigues de Jesus, pointed out the need for auditors to be “open to the plurality of sophisticated tools and concepts, and the way in which the economy and society are evolving exponentially”, in a context of change and evolution “continuous and positive, both in terms of the quality of the final work and our professional qualification in the areas of training and suitability and technical and behavioral practices, with the permanent contribution of the Bar Association, supervisors and society in general”.
This is a reflection and a path that is seen as fundamental in order to ensure the position of the ROC at the forefront of the governance of public and private entities. "The audit, with the autonomy and independence that it must legitimately claim, must be an important element of governance and, what is fundamental, must be seen as such.”, said José Rodrigues de Jesus.
The fundamental nature of the work carried out by auditors was pointed out in the speech by Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, President of the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), when she said that “Statutory Auditors and Statutory Audit Firms are today among the most important guardians of the proper functioning of the markets, ensuring an indispensable level of supervision as certifiers of accounting legality and the accuracy of financial information, for the benefit of the company, its stakeholders and the market in general.”.
A message of rigor that was also echoed by Ernesto Cunha, Vice-President of the Court of Auditors, who argued that “If the new accounting model adopted - the Accounting Standardization System for Public Administrations (SNC-AP) - is to become a reality, it is important that it gives concrete form to accrual accounting and to the process of consolidating the General State Account. This is the only way to talk about rigor, transparency and accuracy in public accounts.”.
The event will be the stage for discussions on topics such as Development and New Technologies, Corporate Governance, Cybersecurity and Globalization and Markets, People and Information. The Congress will be closed by Pedro Siza Vieira, Deputy Minister for the Economy.