Transparency report 2023

Building Trust

PwC’s approach to building trust is designed to meet rising expectations of transparency, accountability and stakeholder engagement. It combines expertise in audit, tax and compliance activities with a drive to expand specialist capabilities in areas such as cyber security, data privacy, ESG and AI. It also recognises the importance of quality - and that reporting and compliance represent just one link in a chain that includes organisational culture, executive mindset, aligned standards, certified professionals, stringent controls, tailored technologies and appropriate governance.

While we are incredibly proud of our firm’s record on audit quality, we are constantly seeking feedback to inform how we reinforce our foundation for audit quality and how we adapt our audit quality efforts to address possible issues. We also continuously assess the impacts of changes in the business environment, profession, workforce, and workplace to direct the actions we take today that affect the future of our people, our firm, our profession, and the capital markets.

Similar to building trust, delivering sustained outcomes requires us to work in an integrated way. Instead of taking a traditional technology-driven approach to transformation, PwC focuses on the outcomes that our efforts are seeking to achieve. To deliver the agreed outcomes, we then mobilise our expertise in areas including – among many others – strategy, digital and cloud services, value creation, people and organisation, tax, sustainability reporting, deals, business recovery services, legal and compliance.

Our new strategy builds on our ongoing commitment to quality.

Trust lies at the heart of everything we do at PwC. It is fundamental to fulfilling our firm’s purpose. One of the ways we build trust is by being transparent. 

As auditors, we’re also acutely aware of another trust driver - the quality of our external audits. Our Transparency for 2023 shows how we maintain quality in our audit work. The report describes our policies, systems and processes for ensuring quality, the results of key quality monitoring programs and reviews, and the way we foster a culture of quality at every level in the firm.

Each year, the expectations of our stakeholders grow, and the demand for information and insights from auditors increases. This is reflected in an unprecedented level of standard setting and the growing pace of regulation – including that related to the use of technology and data in corporate reporting and auditing – which show no sign of slowing down. We recognise and accept our responsibility to lead change to meet those expectations because confidence in the role of auditors is critical.

We spend considerable time, effort, and resources in helping to shape the future of corporate reporting and auditing in a way that builds trust in the capital markets. We also continue to take appropriate measures to prepare our people and clients for changes in the environment in which we operate. This includes significant investments in the skills of our people and capabilities of our firm in areas including artificial intelligence and sustainability. It also includes significant investments to develop a platform to power the next generation audit – continuing to harness the power of our award-winning technology to drive audit quality and efficiency while maintaining an appropriate focus on establishing practices and controls to manage associated risks.

We are, as always, pleased to engage with you on our continued progress. At PwC, we know that future success hinges on having trust in what matters. Trust is vital to the health of our organisation, our profession, and our communities. Because of this, audit quality is – and always will be – our number one priority.

 

Our 2023 Transparency Report tells the story of an extraordinary year. We are adapting to a complex world and continuing to make enhancements to drive the quality of our audits.

Contact us

 Rianté Padayachee

Rianté Padayachee

Media and Communications Specialist, PwC South Africa

Tel: +27 (0) 11 797 5727

Verena Koobair

Verena Koobair

Integrated Content Lead, PwC South Africa

Tel: +27 (0) 11 797 4873

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