SA 220 requires the engagement partner to take responsibility for the overall quality on each audit engagement assigned to them — specifically for directing and supervising the team, reviewing the work performed in line with the firm's review policies, and being satisfied that sufficient appropriate evidence has been obtained before the auditor's report is issued — and, for engagements that meet the firm's criteria (typically listed entities and other engagements judged high-risk), appointing and relying on an Engagement Quality Control Reviewer (EQCR) before the report is released.
What the engagement partner has to personally do
- 01Assess team competence and capability before and during the engagementIncluding whether the team collectively has the time, experience and specialist skill the specific engagement needs.
- 02Direct the team on the nature, timing and extent of proceduresNot delegate planning wholesale and review only the output — direction happens before and during fieldwork, not only at review.
- 03Review working papers in a timely mannerReviewed on a timely basis so significant matters can be resolved, and reviewed to the extent set out in the firm's policies, which for higher-risk areas typically means partner-level review, not manager sign-off alone.
- 04Take responsibility for compliance with independence requirementsConfirming that the engagement team and the firm have complied with relevant ethical requirements, including independence, for this specific client.
- 05Determine whether an EQCR is required, and if so, do not issue the report until that review is completeThe report cannot be dated and released ahead of a required EQCR sign-off — the review has to happen first.
Regulatory requirement
Where an EQCR is required, SA 220 requires the reviewer to evaluate the significant judgments made and the conclusions reached in forming the opinion, and the auditor's report must not be dated until the EQCR has been completed — the standard is explicit about sequencing, not just about the review happening at some point.
Common practice, not a requirement
SA 220 operates at the engagement level and assumes a firm-wide quality control system — governed by SQC 1 — already exists to support it. A firm with a strong SQC 1 system but a partner who skips direction and timely review on a specific file is still non-compliant with SA 220 on that engagement.
This is practical guidance written for audit teams, not an authoritative statement of any standard or statute. Standards, forms and timelines change. Check the current text issued by the ICAI and the relevant authority before relying on anything here in an audit file.
Related resources
- Audit documentationReviewing and signing off audit working papersWhat a reviewer is responsible for, a defensible review order, writing points that get cleared properly, and why approval must lapse when the paper changes.
- Audit documentationEngagement letters: what SA 210 requiresWhat an engagement letter must establish, when it needs renewing, and the gaps most often found on file inspection — undated letters and stale scope.
- Audit workflow & automationSA 300: planning an audit, and why the strategy comes before the planThe strategy answers "what kind of audit is this." The plan answers "who does what, when." SA 300 keeps them as two different documents on purpose.
- Audit documentationAn audit documentation checklist for statutory auditsA checklist organised by when the work happens: planning, fieldwork, each paper, completion and assembly, with the deadlines that govern the last two.
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