When an audit fails, the issue is not always a bad test or a missed checklist. Sometimes, the real problem is that the engagement partner was missing when it mattered most.

In this episode of Financial Reporting Conversations, Wayne Basford and Judith Leung unpack why the engagement partner must be involved early, not just at final review. They explore how weak planning, poor risk identification, ineffective engagement team discussions, and late file review can all contribute to audit failure.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the engagement partner’s role starts before final review
• How poor direction and supervision can undermine audit quality
• Why ETDs should be more than a compliance tick-box
• How late partner review can leave audit teams exposed

Financial Reporting Conversations is brought to you by Basford Consulting helping professionals go beyond compliance and get financial reporting right.

For technical insights, training, and resources that make the unknowns in financial reporting known, visit basfordconsulting.com

🔗 Connect with us:
LinkedIn: Wayne Basford & Judith Leung
YouTube: @BasfordConsulting
Website: basfordconsulting.com

AI in accounting is changing how technical papers, reports, training content, and audit resources are prepared. But faster does not always mean better.

In this episode of Financial Reporting Conversations, Wayne Basford and Judith Leung discuss how AI in accounting can improve efficiency, support technical research, and help professionals produce more polished work.

They also unpack the risks: convincing but flawed analysis, hallucinated references, weak application of IFRS principles, and accounting papers that look right until someone tests the reasoning.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why AI in accounting can speed up technical work
• Why professional judgment still matters under IFRS
• How AI-generated accounting papers can mislead auditors and preparers
• Why facts, contracts, and critical thinking still drive the right answer

Financial Reporting Conversations is brought to you by Basford Consulting helping professionals go beyond compliance and get financial reporting right.

For technical insights, training, and resources that make the unknowns in financial reporting known, visit basfordconsulting.com

🔗 Connect with us:
LinkedIn: Wayne Basford & Judith Leung
YouTube: @BasfordConsulting
Website: basfordconsulting.com

When an audit goes wrong, the problem is not always that the auditor missed the issue. Sometimes, the issue was known but not communicated early, clearly, or to the right people.

In this episode of Financial Reporting Conversations, we unpack audit communication failures. Wayne and Judith discuss why communication with management, those charged with governance, shareholders, creditors, and regulators matters, and how delayed escalation can create pressure to sign an audit opinion without sufficient appropriate audit evidence.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why audit communication failures can undermine audit quality
• Why issues must be escalated beyond the finance team
• How internal control deficiencies, audit adjustments, and modified opinions should be communicated
• Why late communication can increase pressure on auditors and directors
• How the audit report becomes the final communication to stakeholders

Financial Reporting Conversations is brought to you by Basford Consulting helping professionals go beyond compliance and get financial reporting right.

For technical insights, training, and resources that make the unknowns in financial reporting known, visit basfordconsulting.com

🔗 Connect with us:
LinkedIn: Wayne Basford & Judith Leung
YouTube: @BasfordConsulting
Website: basfordconsulting.com