Which of these arrangements of duties

The arrangements could be run internally or use an external service provider — for example, to receive or investigate whistleblower disclosures. The arrangements may align with other arrangements you have in place for raising concerns you identify through your audit work with the company.

Regulatory Guide Whistleblower policies RG explains the obligations for companies that must have a formal whistleblower policy that contains information on how the company will handle whistleblower disclosures.

RG could also be a reference for audit firms wishing to establish arrangements to handle whistleblower disclosures and address whistleblower concerns. However, only public companies, large proprietary companies and corporate trustees of registrable superannuation entities are required to have a whistleblower policy meeting the requirements set out in the law. Whistleblowers can report their concerns directly to you as an eligible recipient and access the whistleblower rights and protections.

We appreciate that you, your firm or your team may prefer whistleblowers to use any arrangements you have established or authorised for whistleblower disclosures, rather than reporting to you directly or personally as an eligible recipient.

We understand that this can help you, your firm or your team properly and systematically manage whistleblower disclosures and promptly address the concerns raised. If you receive a whistleblower disclosure personally, you can encourage the whistleblower to report using the whistleblower arrangements you have established or authorised.

This may be the most appropriate way to acknowledge a whistleblower's concerns. If you refer the whistleblower's report to the firm's or team's whistleblower arrangements yourself, you might disclose the whistleblower's identity or information likely to lead to identification of them. Given the confidentiality obligation, you will need the whistleblower's consent to refer the report.

This consent may be clear from the whistleblower's qualifying disclosure or from the context of how you receive it. The whistleblower provisions will also affect how you, your firm or your team can investigate the concerns and request the company address, correct or disclose the misconduct or breach of the law. As a company auditor or member of an audit team, the qualifying disclosures you receive may be about matters within your audit responsibilities or across the company's operations.

Because of this, it is important that you understand the company's arrangements for dealing with risks and issues that may arise within its operations, so you can respond to the whistleblower's concerns about the company in line with your responsibilities.

Depending on the circumstances, you, your firm or your team may need to pursue the concern without commenting on or attributing the source, or after masking the source. You must also comply with the confidentiality obligation while affording any procedural fairness to people who may be the subject of the qualifying disclosure.

These issues will need to be handled carefully, according to the legal requirements and with the consent of the whistleblower. If you, your firm or your team receives a qualifying disclosure, you must maintain the confidentiality of the whistleblower's identifying information — that is, you must not make an unauthorised disclosure of their identifying information. Whistleblowers can consent to their identifying details being disclosed.

You, your firm or your team may need to disclose the whistleblower's identity, or information likely to lead to their identification, so you can effectively investigate the concerns and address any misconduct, and if relevant ensure the quality and completeness of the audit. You should inform the whistleblower if this is the case, and discuss it with them.

A whistleblower's consent, and any limits to their consent, may be clear from their qualifying disclosure. If not, you should clarify how the whistleblower wishes their identifying information to be treated as soon as practicable after receiving their qualifying disclosure. If the whistleblower is uncomfortable with providing consent, you could discuss with them how you, your firm or your team will treat them and their disclosure during any subsequent investigation and steps to address the misconduct.

Your firm's or your team's arrangements could include that, with the whistleblower's consent, their identifying information will only be shared with staff within your firm or team or in the company:.

You may wish to set out your firm's or team's approach in the documentation for your arrangements. The guidance in this information sheet or in RG may help you to articulate your approach and explain your processes to potential whistleblowers. Clear information about your firm's or team's arrangements will make it easy for you to clarify with the whistleblower whether they consent to you to disclosing their identifying details. It may also alleviate any concerns they have, because they will know what to expect from making a disclosure to you, your firm or your team, and any subsequent investigation of their concerns.

They will also have the opportunity to identify any of your firm's or team's processes that might raise particular concerns for them or their allegations. Please note that this information sheet is a summary giving you basic information about a particular topic. It does not cover the whole of the relevant law regarding that topic, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. You should also note that because this information sheet avoids legal language wherever possible, it might include some generalisations about the application of the law.

Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.

More releases on financial reporting and audit. Auditors' reporting obligations Auditor breach notifications and contravention reporting Auditor resignation or removal Audit relief Auditors' whistleblower protection obligations. You are here: Home For finance professionals Company auditors Your ongoing obligations as a registered company auditor Auditors' whistleblower protection obligations. The statement details Simply put, flexible work arrangements are alternate arrangements or schedules from the traditional working day and week.

Employees may choose a different work schedule to meet personal or family needs. Alternatively, employers may initiate various schedules to meet their customer needs. No matter which program or how many options are available, the duties, expectations, and deadlines should be clearly outlined by the supervisor and agreed upon by both the supervisor and the employee.

Supportive organizational culture, clear communication, teamwork and reciprocal support between management and employees will help ensure the success of these initiatives. Whether formally written into company policy or an agreement between the employee and employer, common arrangements include:. Flex time is an arrangement where employees work a full day but they can vary their working hours.

These arrangements may include specific guidelines so that a "core" working day exists. Flex time is usually arranged in advance with the employee and employer or supervisor and a set range of start and finish times are established.

The total hours of work are not usually affected by this arrangement. For example, the employee may choose to start between and AM, and finish between and PM. This arrangement establishes that core hours are between AM and PM when all employees will be at work.

Lunch periods are usually required by law and for a set length 30 minutes or more. Employees may choose to work fewer than the standard These arrangements may be on a temporary or permanent basis depending on individual circumstances. It may also be considered in some cases for employees with health problems or disabilities.

Work hours may be negotiated, or they may be chosen to coincide with peak workload hours depending on the type of business. However, employee benefits and qualification for government programs such as employment insurance or pension plans may be affected, and should be examined thoroughly before starting a reduced hour or part-time arrangement. Compressed work week occurs when an employee works for longer periods of time per day or shift in exchange for a day off.

Employees may start earlier or finish later than the normal work day. Compressed work weeks are often initiated by the employee, but sometimes the employer may initiate the option to improve operational efficiency, to maximize production lower daily start up costs or to establish longer business hours which can enhance customer service. Common arrangements for a 40 hours work week are working 10 hours per day, 4 days a week; working an extra hour a day with 1 day off every 2 weeks; or working an extra half hour a day and having one day every 3 or 4 weeks off.

Appointing auditors and setting fees List of auditor appointments and scale fees List of opted-in bodies Fee variation process Fee variations consultation Auditor reporting. In this section. Table of contents. Responsibilities for local authorities in relation to arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources The auditor is not required to quality assure or re-perform the work of others and should rely on such work to the extent that, in their judgement, it is appropriate to do so; and any other evidence source that the auditor regards as necessary to facilitate the performance of their statutory duties.

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