Quality Control Manual

Updating your firm’s quality control manual can seem overwhelming.  The quality control standards encompass requirements from all of the standards areas: assurance, various accounting frameworks, as well as the profession’s rules of professional conduct and bylaws. This can prove challenging for a firm to update if there isn’t an individual in charge of monitoring standards changes throughout the year. 

Here are the top ten things to consider when preparing or updating your firm’s quality control manual.

A sole practitioner might ask why they need to document quality control procedures after years of consummate client service and professional practice based on their word and commitment to the profession. Regrettably, we live in a changing world where a handful of individuals have violated the public trust, and called our profession's integrity into question in a very public way. We have an obligation to our profession – and our clients – to demonstrate that our work continues to be beyond reproach.

Some small- and medium-sized CPA firms and practitioners are also concerned about the time and costs involved in implementing the quality control standard, but a closer look shows that implementing the quality control standards is simpler and less costly than one might think.

For a modest price, practitioners can purchase CPA Canada’s Quality Assurance Manual, which includes detailed guidance, forms, templates and checklists practitioners can adapt to suit their specific circumstances. With these templates, quality control documentation can be brought up to date quickly and painlessly. A small investment of time goes a long way, making it easy for any firm to implement the quality control standard at a minimal cost.