The Need for Audit Trinity Report to Reinforce Financial Reporting Integrity

Abstract

Investors’ reliability on financial statements decreases due to continuing corporate scandals. Many of these rogue listed companies have had dominant shareholders who have circumvented internal controls for personal gain or have hidden poor management using misleading reporting. This has led to calls for restructuring the annual financial report and to fill the gap of corporate governance constituents. This study aims to highlight the importance of combining the efforts of the audit trinity (those are: the audit committee, the external auditor and the internal auditor) in securing the financial reporting system and corporate governance. This literature-based study suggests coordinating and integrating the efforts of the audit trinity and the issue a joint report addressing all matters related to (1) safeguarding company’s assets and accounts (2) ensuring that financial statements and the annual report are fair, balanced and reliable, and (3) ensure the entity’s compliance with applicable laws, corporate governance code, and accounting and auditing standards. The proposed joint report is to be signed by the audit trinity and certified by the chairperson of the board. The development of this report went through two stages, the first one, reviewing related literature, internationally recognized frameworks and corporate governance best practices, and related international standards on auditing; the second stage was sending the draft of the proposed report to 20 expert referees requesting their comments on the structure and the appropriateness of the proposed report. The proposed report helps by clarifying the communication mechanism, responsibilities and powers of the audit trinity that enable them to adequately discharge their duty of maintaining corporate accountability and securing the financial reporting system. It also addressed the need to have informed and stringent control over the quality of financial ‎reporting and avoidance of conflicts of interest‎.