Our Commitment to Audit Quality

In the words of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton:

“The bedrock of our financial system is the audit.”

Further, as observed by SEC Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker, “Trust in the audit is nurtured as the profession consistently delivers audit quality and value to audit committees and the investing public. Trust can be nurtured or broken—it is neither static nor assumed.”

The twenty-first century will bring about more change than in any other previous century. Thus far, we have observed the rise of a global economy, mistrust in government, fear of terrorism, cybersecurity risks, and six different generations simultaneously in the workforce for the first time, to name a few.

Financial reporting and auditing have continued to evolve. Over the past five years, we have seen some of the biggest financial reporting changes in several decades, including a revision of how most companies recognize revenue, adding most leases to the balance sheet, recording pension liabilities for many governmental entities, and changing how nonprofits report key information in their financial statements. All of these changes were triggered by demands of the users of financial statements.

Strong leadership and governance are critical for all organizations to remain relevant in our ever-changing world. Boards of directors, audit committees, and risk management committees must have effective corporate governance and crystal clear ethical guidelines, and they must be competent in their respective roles. Financial competence is a necessity in managing the risks of today and in the future.

The foundation of our audit profession starts with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct. The core principles of this code are Integrity and ObjectivityIndependence and Competence. At Dean Dorton, we are committed to these principles. They guide our audit process and our audit quality. We start each audit engagement with these principles in mind and then design an audit responsive to each individual client’s needs.

We know that audits will significantly change in the coming years with the assistance of growing technology, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining and analysis, blockchain, and continuous auditing. No matter what changes come about, we are committed to the quality of our work, the integrity of our people, and responding to our clients’ needs.

This report provides information on matters directly related to audit quality, such as governance, leadership, independence, audit performance, and monitoring. We hope this report gives you a glimpse of our commitment to audit quality and professional excellence.

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