Listed companies, banks, insurers and similar financial institutions are typical public interest entities. Additional rules apply to their audits, such as reporting key audit matters, engagement quality review and rotation.
Audit firms that audit these entities also publish an annual transparency report.
Related terms
Key audit mattersMatters that, in the auditor's professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the current-period financial statements and are described separately in the report.Transparency reportThe annual report published by audit firms that audit public interest entities on their structure, quality control systems and independence practices.Auditor rotationThe requirement, designed to protect auditor independence, for a company to be audited by another auditor or audit firm after a certain period.Adverse opinionThe opinion in which the auditor states that the financial statements are not presented fairly, where misstatements are both material and pervasive.Agreed-upon proceduresAn engagement in which the practitioner performs procedures agreed with the entity and, where relevant, a third party, and reports only the findings without providing assurance.Analytical proceduresThe evaluation of financial information through analysis of plausible relationships among financial and non-financial data.
Last updated: October 22, 2026 · This definition is for general information only.