CPDStore Ireland

Audit partner rotation is a key requirement under the Ethical Standard for Auditors (Ireland). For Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), understanding these requirements is essential for maintaining independence, objectivity, and compliance with regulatory standards.

This session outlines what audit firms must do, the specific rotation thresholds, available safeguards, and practical tips for SMEs auditing their independence risks.

Audit partner rotation is a requirement that engagement partners (and certain other senior audit personnel) rotate off audit engagements after a specified period of continuous service. The objective is to prevent familiarity threats the risk that extended association with a client might erode an auditor's independence, objectivity, or professional scepticism.

We often get the question, “What if I am a sole trader with an audit client of 15 years? Do I still have to comply with these standards?”

This webinar will cover:

• What is long association?
• How does it apply to small firms and sole practitioners?
• How does it affect audit engagements?
• Implications if rules are not followed

By attending this session you will:

• Learn the specific requirements around long association, rotation periods, and cooling-off provisions under the applicable ethical standards
• Be able to identify when a long association threat exists within your own firm and determine which safeguards are appropriate to reduce that threat to an acceptable level
• Be able to implement practical compliance controls — including a partner tenure register, rotation alerts, and internal review procedures — proportionate to the size and structure of your firm
• Understand the potential consequences of non-compliance and how proactive management of partner rotation protects your firm's independence, reputation, and client relationships

This session will be of most interest to:

• Audit partners and Responsible Individuals (RIs) in small and medium-sized Irish audit firms who are directly subject to rotation requirements
• Audit managers and senior staff who support compliance monitoring and engagement planning
• Practice managers and compliance officers responsible for ethics policies, independence procedures, and internal quality reviews
• Sole practitioners carrying out statutory audits who need to understand how long association rules apply to their engagements
• Any accountant in practice who wants to stay ahead of increasing regulatory expectations from IAASA and the broader international standard-setting environment

Course Level: Need to Know