IFAC's International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board Releases New Practice Statement and Invites Comments on Exposure Drafts
At its most recent meeting in March, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) approved for release an International Auditing Practice Statement (IAPS) providing guidance to auditors when reporting on compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and two exposure drafts regarding assurance engagements and audits of small business. Titles and descriptions of the new and proposed pronouncements, which may be downloaded free of charge from IFAC's website (www.ifac.org), are as follows:
IAPS 1014, Reporting by Auditors on Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) – Examples have arisen of entities stating that their financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs when, in fact, they have not complied with all the requirements that IFRSs impose. This practice statement provides guidance on the auditor's responsibilities when management comments on the extent to which financial statements comply with IFRSs, when there is not full compliance. It supplements guidance provided in International Standard on Auditing 700, The Auditor's Report on Financial Statements.
An Exposure Draft (ED) including a proposed International Framework for Assurance Engagements and a proposed International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 2000, Assurance Engagements on Subject Matters Other Than Historical Financial Information, which will replace IASE 100, Assurance Engagements, once finalized. The proposed Framework defines and describes the elements of an assurance engagement and identifies those engagements to which ISAs and ISAEs apply. The proposed ISAE provides guidance to practitioners for the performance of assurance engagements on subject matters other than historical financial information, which are covered by ISAs,and where no specific ISAEs exist.
An ED entitled The Special Considerations in the Audit of Small Entities, Proposed Amendment to International Auditing Practice Statement 1005. Developed with the input of IFAC's Ethics Committee and Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Task Force, this ED presents guidance on how audits of the financial statements of small entities differ from audits of the financial statements of other entities. Specifically, it revises the current IAPS 1005 to take account of ISAs issued since March 1999 through March 2003. The IAASB agreed that new ISAs issued subsequent to March 2003 would, whenever necessary, address SMP considerations.
Comments on the EDs may be sent to [email protected], faxed to the IAASB Technical Director at +1-212-286-9570, or mailed to the Technical Director at 545 Fifth Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10017. Comments should be submitted so as to be received by June 30, 2003.
