PCAOB Publishes Staff Question and Answer on Auditing Standard No. 7, Engagement Quality Review

Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2010

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today published a staff question and answer on the documentation requirements of Auditing Standard No. 7, Engagement Quality Review. The EQR standard provides a framework for the engagement quality reviewer to objectively evaluate the significant judgments made and related conclusions reached by the engagement team in forming an overall conclusion about the engagement.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved AS No. 7 on January 15, 2010. In its order approving the EQR standard, the SEC encouraged the PCAOB to provide further implementation guidance on the documentation requirements of the standard. The staff question and answer provides implementation guidance.

The PCAOB publishes staff questions and answers to help auditors implement, and the Board’s staff administer, the Board’s standards. The statements contained in the staff questions and answers are not rules of the Board, nor have they been approved by the Board.