Perspectives on Auditing Education after Sarbanes-Oxley

Abstract

The events leading up to and culminating in the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 dramatically impacted the auditing profession and auditing practice. Auditing is again the primary revenue source at the major accounting firms and is growing significantly. The auditing environment after passage of the Act demands students with greater understanding of risk assessment, including business and fraud risks, forensic accounting skills, the ability to understand and document controls and link controls to assertions and audit evidence, and the competence to deal with corporate governance and other PCAOB requirements. Acquiring these skills will require changes in the basic auditing course and one or more advanced auditing courses, as well as changes in the core business and accounting curriculum.