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Government Auditing Standards: Frequently Asked Questions: Establishing and Maintaining a System of Quality Management

GAO-26-108710 Published: Dec 15, 2025. Publicly Released: Dec 15, 2025.
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Fast Facts

Does your audit organization have questions about designing and implementing a system of quality management that complies with the 2024 Yellow Book?

Since we issued the Yellow Book in February 2024, auditors and audit organizations that use the Yellow Book have requested additional guidance about establishing and maintaining a system of quality management.

This guide provides answers to these frequently asked questions.

The cover of the Yellow Book, against a wood-grained background.

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Highlights

This practice aid is a companion to GAO's 2024 revision of Government Auditing Standards (GAO-24-106786), also known as the Yellow Book, which GAO published on February 1, 2024. Since then, audit organizations have been making progress towards meeting the new quality management requirements outlined in Chapter 5 of the 2024 Yellow Book, "Quality Management, Engagement Quality Reviews, and Peer Review." The purpose of this Yellow Book practice aid is to provide additional guidance based on audit organizations' frequently submitted questions.

This Yellow Book practice aid is intended to help audit organizations to understand and meet the new quality management requirements as they deliberate on the design, implementation, and operation of their system of quality management for engagements conducted in accordance with the Yellow Book. It contains three sections:

Section I: The Quality Management Risk Assessment Process

Section II: The Quality Management Monitoring and Remediation Process

Section III: Engagement Quality Reviews

This practice aid is considered GAGAS interpretive guidance in accordance with paragraph 2.06 of the Yellow Book.

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James R. Dalkin
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Financial Management and Assurance

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Topics

Quality assuranceGovernment auditing standardsPolicies and proceduresRisk assessmentRemediationPeer reviewQuality controlAuditorsCompliance oversightAudit reports