New Auditor’s Report: The Next Year Experience in Thailand

Abstract

Since 31^st December 2016, it is compulsory that auditors adopt new auditor’s report and communicate key audit matters (KAM) in the report. In the United Kingdom, research on KAM communication reported inconsistency in KAM reporting between the first and following years. In other countries, KAM reporting varied from industry to industry. Specifically, the aim of this research is to comparatively investigate developments in auditor’s reports two years following the implementation of the changed format and KAM communication in the Thai context.

            The findings identified the top three KAM for two consecutive years: revenue recognition, impairment of assets, and inventory valuation, respectively. The first- and second-year auditor’s reports contained similar numbers of KAM and content. Nevertheless, the number of KAM and number of pages varied between industries, with the technology sector exhibiting the highest number of KAM and pages. Furthermore, study also found that the first-year auditor’s reports in Thailand were consistent with those in Malaysia but inconsistent with the U.K’s. The auditor’s reports issued by Big 4 audit firms contained greater numbers of KAM and pages, in addition to a higher propensity to use tables in KAM communication than those of other audit firms.