Ace the 2026 CMFO Internal Control & Auditing Challenge – Take Charge of Your CPA Future!

The main idea being tested is understanding what an external review of an auditing firm is intended to evaluate. An external review conducted by an independent organization focuses on the firm’s quality control system—its policies and procedures designed to ensure audits are performed in accordance with professional standards and regulatory requirements. This review looks at how the firm accepts and continuess clients, assigns engagement teams, conducts engagements, handles independence and ethics, and monitors compliance with standards. It isnures that the overall framework guiding audit quality is sound and actually being followed.

So the best fit is quality control, because the emphasis of the external review is on the system that governs how quality is maintained across all engagements. It isn’t describing the assurance service itself, a general compliance check, or the reviewer’s role as a “peer” in a different sense.