PCAOB Releases Policy Statement on Evaluating Reliability of External Electronic Information

The PCAOB has released a policy statement to help auditors implement paragraph .10A of AS 1105 (on audit evidence), which was added as part of the Board’s June 2024 amendments to the standard. Paragraph .10A “requires auditors to evaluate the reliability of external electronic information provided by the company by: (a) obtaining an understanding of the source and of the company’s process for receiving, maintaining, and processing the information; and (b) testing the information or the relevant controls.” The policy statement focuses on the testing requirements in paragraph .10A(b), since additional implementation guidance has particularly been requested on these requirements.

For more information, see the press release on the PCAOB’s Web site.