Examination of key audit areas in the Turkish metal industry

Global economic crises and accounting scandals have increased the importance of the independent audit process and raised the expectations of stakeholders for more from independent audits. Regulatory bodies have undertaken various initiatives to ensure that independent audit reports provide sufficient information to all stakeholders in terms of quality, reliability, transparency, communication value, and objectivity. One of these initiatives is the "Auditor's Report Project" initiated by the IAASB in 2011. As part of this project, international auditing standards were reviewed and revised, and one of the most significant changes was the publication of the "ISA 701 Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor's Report" standard. In Turkey, the Public Oversight, Accounting, and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) published this standard under the title "BDS 701 Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor's Report" in the Official Gazette dated 09.03.2017 and numbered 30002. The purpose of this standard is to enhance the communication value of the independent audit report by requiring auditors to identify, describe, and report key audit matters. As a result of the implementation of this standard, independent audit reports have become more meaningful, detailed, and unique. In this study, independent audit reports of companies operating in the Turkish Metal Industry Sector for the period of 2017-2021 were analyzed to examine the key audit areas mentioned in the independent audit reports of the companies in the sector and evaluate the independent audit firms. Keywords: Independent Audit Standard (IAS), Independent Audit Report, Key Audit Areas, Turkish Metal Industry.