I’ve been through MIA practice review twice for the past 25 years.
The first time? I almost failed my practice review.

Why?
Because I “forgot” to attend stocktake. Rookie mistake, but it nearly cost me my audit license.

Fast forward to last Thursday, I attended the Abot webinar on practice review by Dr Ramesh.

And trust me, the reminders hit me hard. Practice review is no longer just for “big firms.” Even small firms like ours are in the spotlight.

Here are my key takeaways. Short, sharp, and painful truths.

1. The new reality of practice review

There is an uptrend in PR cases, even for small firms.
Files are chosen based on risk, not random draw.
ISQM is no longer a free ride. Documentation must be airtight.
Dating of audit evidence, if done wrongly, can be fatal.

2. Findings that keep repeating

The ethics checklist was not done, even by partners. FRAP not completed.
Acceptance procedures were missing, both at firm and engagement level.
AMLA training often ignored, but it is a ticking bomb.
Risk analysis, especially in construction and development audits, is weak and risky.

3. FRAP in Abot … A wake up call

The ethics partner is the managing partner, no running away.
Default “Moderate” risk in templates isn’t an excuse. We must justify why it’s.
Training records matter. Without them, you cannot downgrade risks.

4. QM content in Abot

Partner evaluation must be formal, either internal or outsourced.
There must be a budget for training, system and hardware.
Ethical training must be documented.
AMLA documentation, customer due diligence and sanction list checks are non-negotiable.

5. Hard lessons from PR findings

Professional judgment is often missing because staff are not trained.
Engagement quality review should be done by leaders on at least one file every three years.
Monitoring and remediation must be done by partners, not managers.
Evaluation of SOQM is also the partner’s duty.
File retention must be for 7 years, no shortcut.
Audit planning forms should not be left blank or ticked “NO.” It looks careless.
Preliminary AR must be professional, not copy-paste.
Alternative test without circularisation is type 3 mistake.

6. My Takeaway

Practice review is like an exam. Fail at Type 3 or 4, I mampus.
In practice review, I risk my audit license or suspension for months.

My action plan in this coming weeks :
Train staff. Train myself.
Do the ethics checklist.
Don’t take shortcuts.
Abot has the features. Use them.

When MIA comes knocking, excuses don’t work. Only documentation does.