Optimizing Audit Quality Management in Small and Medium-Sized Accounting Firms

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_2How to use a DOI?

Keywords

small and medium-sized accounting firms; audit quality management; risk-based system; monitoring and remediation

Abstract

Small and medium-sized accounting firms (SMPs) face mounting expectations to demonstrate reliable audit quality while operating under tight resource and pricing constraints. This paper proposes a qualitative framework for optimizing audit quality control—reframed as audit quality management—tailored to the scale, risk profile, and governance realities of SMPs. Drawing on professional standards, supervisory guidance, and practice-informed insights, the study diagnoses recurrent weaknesses in tone at the top, risk assessment, methodology discipline, independence monitoring, documentation, technology adoption, and monitoring-and-remediation. It then outlines an integrated, proportionate system built on leadership accountability, risk-based design, capability development, data governance, and learning-oriented oversight. The core contribution is a practical blueprint that helps SMPs move from checklist-heavy compliance to outcomes-focused quality management, strengthening public-interest protection while preserving commercial viability.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Guifan Rong
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/12
TI  - Optimizing Audit Quality Management in Small and Medium-Sized Accounting Firms
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 3rd International Conference on Applied Economics, Management Science and Social Development (AEMSS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 4
EP  - 10
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_2
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_2
ID  - Rong2026
ER  -