REGULATORS and audit firms from six Asean countries and Hong Kong have concluded a meeting to discuss raising audit quality and market transparency in the region.

The Asean Audit Regulators Group's 5th Annual Meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and yesterday. It was attended by more than 80 participants.

This year's discussions focused on two key areas. First, the use of "audit quality indicators" (AQIs) to spur deeper conversations on quality matters between audit firms and stakeholders such as audit committees.

"There was agreement that the AQIs could be a useful tool for audit committees to start a meaningful conversation with audit firms on the quality of their audits," said Mr Kenneth Yap, CEO of Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

Second, the meeting discussed the challenges and opportunities arising from the implementation of an expanded auditor's report.

The new report will be implemented for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after Dec 15 next year.

A statement released yesterday said participants agreed this was a good opportunity to increase transparency on the value and relevance of audits, in an environment where more demands are made on financial reporting.