Our audit approach

The PwC audit

The quality and effectiveness of an audit is critical to all of our stakeholders. We therefore invest heavily in the effectiveness of our audits, the skills of our people and our underlying audit methodology, by the technology we use and in making the right amount of time and resources available. We pay close attention to the internal indicators and processes that routinely monitor the effectiveness of our risk and quality processes and provide timely information about the quality of our audit work and any areas for improvement. Additionally, we consider what our various stakeholders require from us, what they tell us we need to improve and the findings of regulatory inspections on the quality of our work. Results of the most recent regulatory inspection can be found in the ‘Monitoring’ section.

As a member of the PwC Network, PricewaterhouseCoopers AG has access to and uses PwC Audit, a common audit methodology and process. This methodology is based on the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), with additional PwC policy and guidance provided where appropriate. PwC Audit policies and procedures are designed to facilitate audits conducted in compliance with all ISA requirements that are relevant to each individual audit engagement. Our common audit methodology provides the framework to enable PwC firms to consistently comply in all respects with applicable professional standards, regulations and legal requirements. For the smaller client segment where certain thresholds are not met, the local standard for limited statutory examination is used to conduct the work.

Maja Baiocco
Partner, Asset Management Assurance & Technology Enabled Audit Leader, PwC Switzerland

Transparency Report 2024

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As a member of the PwC network, PricewaterhouseCoopers AG has access to and uses PwC Audit, a common audit methodology and process. This methodology is based on the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), with additional PwC policy and guidance provided where appropriate. PwC Audit policies and procedures are designed to facilitate audits conducted in compliance with all ISA requirements that are relevant to each individual audit engagement. Our common audit methodology provides the framework to enable PwC firms to consistently comply in all respects with applicable professional standards, regulations and legal requirements. For the smaller client segment where certain thresholds are not met, the local standard for limited statutory examination is used to conduct the work.

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Our Next Generation Audit

As part of our commitment to building trust and delivering sustained outcomes, the PwC Network is investing in a multi-year effort to deliver a new global audit platform to power our next generation audit, ultimately replacing our legacy technologies such as Aura and Connect. By exploring and investing in new technologies and redefining underlying audit processes, PwC will further standardise, simplify, centralise and automate our audit work. PwC’s investment will accelerate ongoing innovation and enable us to respond to changing stakeholders’ needs while taking advantage of emerging technologies, including generative AI, providing a transformed audit experience focusing on continuous quality enhancement. PwC’s vision for NGA is to provide efficient, robust and independent assurance and audit insights across financial and nonfinancial information, helping to build trust in what matters to our stakeholders. As PwC gains momentum around the next generation audit programme, we will continue to release new capabilities on an ongoing basis to enhance quality and the overall audit experience.

There have been significant investments across the PwC Network into Generative AI as we seek to reimagine how we further enable our people by leveraging the power of AI. We are focused on promoting a culture of responsible usage of AI while supporting ongoing interest and quickly evolving potential use cases for AI including Generative AI.

Reliability and auditability of audit technologies

Our firm has designed and implemented processes and controls to underpin the reliability of these audit technologies. This includes clarification of the roles and responsibilities of audit technology owners and users. In addition, we have guidance focused on the sufficiency of audit documentation included in the workpapers related to the use of these audit technologies, including consideration of the reliability of the solution, and the documentation needed to assist the reviewer in meeting their direction, supervision and review responsibilities as part of the normal course of the audit.

Confidentiality and information security

Confidentiality and information protection as well as privacy are key elements of our professional responsibilities. Misuse or loss of confidential client information or personal data may expose the firm to legal proceedings and it may also adversely impact our reputation. We take the protection of confidential information and personal data very seriously.

Our focus on our clients requires a holistic and collaborative approach to reducing security, privacy and confidentiality risks with significant investment in appropriate organisation, controls and monitoring to embed an effective three lines of defence model. This model has enabled us to strengthen our information security and privacy organisation, align with industry good practice and improve our internal control frameworks.

The firm maintains a robust and consistent approach to the management of all personal data, with everyone in our organisation having a role to play in safeguarding personal data. We have continued to build on our extensive privacy programme for compliance with applicable data protection laws and are committed to embedding good data management practices across our business.

Information Security is a high priority for the PwC Network. Our firm is accountable to our people, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders to protect information that is entrusted to us. Failure to protect information could potentially harm the individuals whose information our firm holds, lead our firm to suffer regulatory sanctions or other financial losses, and impact the PwC reputation and brand. As such, our firm complies with the Information Security Policy which outlines the minimum security requirements for all PwC firms.

We continue to evolve the way we deliver our services so our people give our clients an even better experience, further enhance the quality of what we do and create economic capacity to invest in the future. We use delivery centres to streamline, standardise, automate and centralise portions of audit.

Engagement leaders and senior engagement team members are responsible and accountable for providing quality coaching throughout the audit and supervising the work completed by junior members of the team, coaching the team and maintaining audit quality. Engagement teams utilise Aura, which has capabilities to effectively monitor the progress of the engagement, to determine that all work has been completed and reviewed by appropriate individuals, including the engagement leader.

Consultation is key to maintaining audit quality. We have formal protocols about mandatory consultation in the pursuit of quality. For example, our engagement teams consult with appropriate groups in areas such as taxation, risk, valuation, actuarial and other specialists as well as individuals within our Assurance Technical Office.

Specific audit engagements are assigned a QRP as part of the member firm’s system of quality management as required by professional standards. These partners, who have the necessary experience and technical knowledge, are involved in the most critical aspects of the audit. For example, they may advise on matters of firm independence, significant risks and a team’s responses to these risks, and specific accounting, auditing, and financial reporting and disclosure issues.

Our Assurance Technical Office comprises specialists in accounting, auditing and financial reporting, as well as in risk and quality. These specialists play a vital role in keeping our policies and guidance in these areas current by tracking new developments in accounting and auditing, and providing those updates to professional staff.

Protocols exist to resolve the situations where a difference of opinion arises between the engagement leader and either the QRP, another assurance partner or central functions such as the Assurance Technical Office. These include the use of technical panels consisting of partners independent of the engagement.

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