The Financial Supervisory Service held a briefing for external auditor personnel and urged for improvements in audit quality management.
The FSS announced that it held the '2025 Corporate Auditor Briefing for Listed Companies' at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th. The briefing was attended by the heads of quality management for auditors of listed companies and personnel in charge of quality management.
At this briefing, the FSS provided information on major cases of violations of the External Audit Act concerning external audits of corporations, as well as the current state of review and supervision for companies at risk of insolvency and those planned for initial public offering (IPO). This aims to prevent the recurrence of violations and improve audit quality management.
The FSS has improved the auditor designation system, introducing a score application method to enhance fairness based on the size of audit firms when designating auditors. There have been concerns that the proportion of designated companies assigned to large audit firms has consistently risen, indicating the external audit system is being operated in their favor. The FSS improved the system so that the designation proportion for these firms decreases by increasing the score deduction for auditors designated from large audit firms with assets exceeding 5 trillion won.
It also called for thorough audits of companies at risk of insolvency and those planned for IPO. The FSS expanded the review scale for companies showing signs of insolvency by 250% compared to the previous year, and for IPO companies, it broadened the review scope from assets exceeding 1 trillion won to those exceeding 500 billion won. Companies whose stock prices and performance plummet immediately after listing, as well as technology-specialized listed companies, were also included in the audit targets.
Additionally, it shared cases of penalty surcharges and criminal complaints against those who obstructed external audits by auditors to encourage smooth cooperation during work.
The FSS noted, "We expect to provide practical help in performing the regulatory compliance and quality management responsibilities of auditors of listed companies," and added, "We will continue to communicate with the field by providing guidance on key issues and improvements through briefings and meetings going forward."