What happens when an audit's already wrapped, the report's already filed, and someone finds a problem anyway? PCAOB standard AS 2901 answers that question, replacing older, narrower guidance with a much broader obligation: firms now have to respond to engagement deficiencies identified after the fact, no matter how they were found.

This episode breaks down the standard's threshold test for when the obligation even applies, the two very different paths a firm can end up on depending on what the deficiency actually is, and the documentation trail regulators expect to see. Along the way, we follow a director of quality at a fictional firm through the exact judgment calls AS 2901 forces into the open.

Connect with Meredith

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithmednick/

Earn CPE for listening to this Podcast
https://www.earmark.app/

This podcast is a production of Earmark Media

On September 9, 2026, the PCAOB adopted amendments to QC 1000, three months before they take effect. This is a companion to episode two, PCAOB QC 1000, A Firm's System of Quality Control, covering the recent changes.

Connect with Meredith
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithmednick/

Earn CPE for Listening to This Podcast
https://www.earmark.app/

This podcast is a production of Earmark Media

Most firms don't have a quality problem; they have a documentation problem that keeps masquerading as one. This episode breaks down PCAOB QC 1000, the new standard that forces firms to move from checking boxes to actually knowing whether their quality control works, and what that shift means before the December 2026 effective date.

Connect with Meredith

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithmednick/

Earn CPE for Listening to This Podcast
https://www.earmark.app/

This podcast is a production of Earmark Media