Combination of Practices
21.69 The firm may be requested to reissue reports (generally in connection with regulatory filings) that were previously issued by firms with whom the firm has since combined practices. Since, in most instances, the predecessor firm has ceased to exist, these reissued reports must be signed with the member firm name. The following policies apply to such situations:
• The workpapers should be reviewed by a technical reviewer designated by the Head of Assurance prior to reissuance of the report
• In the event that the technical reviewer determines that further fieldwork is required prior to the reissuance of the report with the firm’s signature, the additional work should be undertaken as promptly as possible. In addition, the client should be advised of the additional fees that will be incurred. Where additional work is undertaken, the technical reviewer and the Head of Assurance should be consulted prior to determining whether the auditor’s report should be updated in whole or in part.
Audits Completed Prior to Combination
21.70 The auditor’s report with the firm’s signature modified to indicate the name of the predecessor firm should be used in either of the following circumstances:
• the audit team is reissuing the report on behalf of the predecessor firm (report reissuance)
• the predecessor firm has substantially completed fieldwork procedures prior to the combination and has not as yet issued an auditor’s report (original issuance)