Trust, technology and audit quality: MGI members reflect on the Forum of Firms

MGI Worldwide members Susan van der Valk from MGI Bass Gordon and Patrick Kubai from MGI RAS recently attended the Forum of Firms meeting in South Africa, only the second time the event has been held in the country.

With trust, technology and the changing audit landscape all featuring heavily in the discussions, we caught up with Sue and Patrick to hear what stood out to them.

Sue's reflections from the day

"The Forum of Firms has an important purpose — contributing to the advancement of audit quality in the public interest. We heard updates from around the globe, as well as from IRBA and SAICA, together with some interesting fireside chats."

“What stood out for me was how often the conversation came back to trust — trust in our profession, in the work we do and in the changing environment we operate in. Technology was another strong theme throughout the day, particularly as we think about how it is changing the way we work and the profession more broadly." 

"It was great to meet and chat with colleagues from different firms across South Africa and hear about their experiences. And it was especially good to connect with Patrick from MGI RAS and have some MGI Worldwide company in the room!"

For Patrick, the discussions also reinforced the importance of investing in people as the audit landscape continues to evolve.

“The Forum of Firms emphasised for me the need for audit firms to invest in the development of their people, so that we all understand how the audit landscape is changing on matters such as how we understand and view independence and how we apply professional scepticism as an important driver of audit quality.”

Patrick also highlighted the practical insights shared around embedding technology into the audit process to help enhance audit quality, adding: “The session was very engaging and we came away with a lot of thought-provoking insights that we will bring back to our firms and network.

From trust and technology to people development and new connections, the meeting provided plenty of valuable insights for Sue and Patrick to take back to their firms, and to share across the wider MGI Worldwide network.

For more information about attending Forum of Firms and IFAC meetings in your region contact Emma Rowley.