FAR supports the audit firms as part of its data collection efforts with the collection of the financial statement data from sources such as the Dutch trade register, investor relations websites of listed companies, and AFM filings. Until the spring of 2019 most audit firms collected these data themselves. Some firms concluded that almost 70% of their data gathering efforts was invested in hand-collection of information from public data sources.

An important goal of FAR is to stimulate and (co)facilitate PhD-research. Therefore, we announce with great pleasure that Christian Peters started as a PhD-researcher at Tilburg University on September 1, with a (co)funding from FAR.

In this newsletter: FAR Masterclass by Kris Hardies about "Professional Skepticism", Financial Statement Data Gathering Efforts, Interview with new FAR researcher Christian Peters & the latest FAR practice notes and literature reviews.

By William Ciconte (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Justin Leiby (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Marleen Willekens (KU – Leuven).

Does engaging in commercial activity compromise auditors’ professionalism? Read it in this FAR Literature review by William Ciconte (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Justin Leiby (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Marleen Willekens (KU – Leuven).

Do private firm audits serve a different purpose? Read it in this FAR Literature review by Mahmoud Gad (Lancaster University), Robin Litjens (Tilburg University) and Jeroen Suijs (Erasmus University).