Companies are going to change their auditors more frequently than in the past. A good selection process is essential to enhance audit quality and ensure auditor’s independence. Therefore, this paper provides a four step approach for a high-quality selection process. We previously identified these steps in our 2013 paper Auditor selection: towards best practices which was based on a pan-European stakeholders’ survey and the work of an expert task force.
This guidance will benefit 1) companies on managing the auditor selection process and 2) shareholders assessing a company’s current selection process. It can be of use to select auditors irrespective of the regulatory environment, country, market segment, or size of the company – e.g. public-interest entities (PIEs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Due to the diverse legal frameworks and governance structures across Europe, the reader may also need to refer to local company law and corporate governance requirements.
