Our focus on audit quality

Our senior leaders serve as ethical role models. Communications from our leaders emphasize the critical importance of quality, ethical behavior, and accountability.

Audit partners are evaluated based on their relative performance against established goals, inclusive of impact and quality, and not for selling non-audit services to their audit clients.

We are increasing use of AI tools in our audits today. We proactively set business rules and policies that prioritize quality and provide guidance and training on the responsible use of AI.

Our overall independence compliance programs include systems and processes that support our people in maintaining independence.

We accept new or continue existing audit relationships only when supported by our assessment of risks and when we believe our audit procedures can be satisfactorily designed and executed.

We are committed to taking action that benefits our profession and builds the future talent pipeline. We support alternative pathways into accounting that build competency and preserve mobility.

Our inclusion strategy enables us to foster a culture in which every individual feels they belong, can thrive, and have the opportunity to grow.

Our apprenticeship culture fosters continuous learning and teaching, providing our people with opportunities for growth, regardless of where or how they work.

During FY25, we enhanced training to reinforce the impact of apprenticeship and behaviors that drive audit quality and implemented facilitator-led, small group discussions designed to complement existing training for new reviewers. We also emphasized more in-person time together through additional mandatory classroom training and organized in-person opportunities.

We are focused on delivering a meaningful experience that supports development for our people and the skills to serve their professional goals.

During FY25 we launched our revised PwC Professional framework that assesses skills and competencies across two dimensions – trusted leadership and distinctive outcomes – and includes specific quality dimensions.

Our personalized rewards and benefits reflect the evolving needs of our people and recognize their contributions to delivering quality and value.

Learning that occurs through on-the-job supervision, review, and mentoring is supplemented through completion of in-person and virtual classroom courses and on-demand training programs.

Our audit teams are composed of individuals who bring the right blend of technical capabilities and industry knowledge and leverage our broad network of multidisciplinary specialists to address various accounting and auditing areas.

Our National Office provides thought leadership and technical support to our audit teams, and during FY25, addressed various auditing, accounting, reporting, and other practice matters – for example, the ongoing evolution of trade policies and new auditing standards – through guidance, training, and tools.

Our audit teams utilize Aura, the PwC Network’s cloud-based audit platform used to drive quality and consistency on a world-wide basis. Our comprehensive suite of audit tools and GenAI capabilities allow us to exchange data faster, analyze deeper, and audit smarter.

During FY25, we expanded our GenAI capabilities - including the introduction of a centralized collection of proprietary ChatPwC prompts and plugins - and provided comprehensive guidance and resources to address the risks associated with AI and Gen AI in financial reporting and support responsible use of GenAI in the audit

We also augmented procedures related to identifying and responding to fraud risks – including fraud inquiries, team discussions and brainstorming related to fraud, whistleblower program evaluations, unpredictability procedures, and communications with audit committees.

Each member firm in the PwC Network is responsible for monitoring and continuously improving its system of quality management (SoQM). PwC US partners receive information about the results of the Network inspection program to consider in planning and performing their work.

Our SoQM is designed to meet the requirements of the relevant quality control standards of the PCAOB, AICPA, and IAASB.

Our most recent annual evaluation concluded that as of March 31, 2025, our SoQM over our audit practice is designed appropriately and operating effectively to provide reasonable assurance that the quality objectives prescribed by the relevant quality control standards, including ISQM 1, and the PwC Network’s Quality Management for Service Excellence framework have been achieved.

During FY25, we made substantial progress in our implementation of the PCAOB’s QC 1000 and expect to pilot many of the provisions of the new standard during FY26 prior to our adoption, which will occur on or before the effective date of December 15, 2026.

We monitor the quality of our US audits through various channels, including pre-issuance reviews and internal and external inspections.

We have a robust and mature process to identify and consider potential causal factors for identified audit deficiencies.