The Financial Reporting Council recently released its Annual Review of Audit Quality 2026, highlighting the state of the auditing profession.

While most auditors are keen to deliver high-quality work for their clients, it can be challenging to know how to successfully achieve this in the face of increased pressure.

Knowing how technology can underpin efforts to improve quality is vital for those wishing to fully embrace the FRC recommendations.

Are audit firms getting better?

There is a general increase in the quality of audit firms and the report goes into detail about the effectiveness of small audit firms.

While small firms lack the resources of large firms and thus struggle to be as efficient at maintaining standards, there are indications that efforts are being made.

It is noted by the FRC that Systems of Quality Management (SoQM) are not as robust and could be contributing to a greater difficulty with meeting standards than could be necessary.

Individual firms were found to have considerable variation when inspected, which indicates that different firms face unique challenges and may be struggling to find a universal solution.

On the surface, it might seem like a lack of resources will forever keep smaller firms under the shadow of the big firms, but this is not necessarily the case.

The FRC identifies SoQM as “the most important route to sustained improvement” and that an effective system should “identify risks to audit quality, design and operate responses, monitor whether those responses are effective and remediate deficiencies.”

However, auditors have plenty to fill their time with and may find it difficult to establish an effective SoQM, even if they are aware that it would benefit the firm.

Is technology the key to better quality audits?

In reality, time, resources and energy seem to be the determining factors behind improvements in quality.

If an audit firm were to find a way to access more of those three resources, it would be able to drive up the quality of its offerings regardless of its size.

Auditors may be wondering how it is possible to strive for more rigid internal processes when much of their time is devoted to engaging with clients and attempting to secure the information that is vital to complete work.

While it might seem tempting to cut back on client lists and focus on quality instead, there is a way to do both.

Glasscubes is designed to improve audit efficiency by creating a centralised workflow from which everyone on the team can access the information they need.

When client delays threaten to eat into your precious time, automated reminders keep things on track without the stress.

The hours saved managing workflows will be yours to do with as you please, but they could be spent getting a SoQM set up.

From this, you could deliver higher-quality audits and engage more with clients, establishing your firm as the go-to auditor in your area no matter what size you are.

Unleash your audit firm’s full potential by booking a demo today.