The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued narrow-scope amendments to two of its standards.
The IAASB amended International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 700 (Revised), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, and ISA 260 (Revised), Communication with Those Charged with Governance, a news release said. The amendments will allow auditors to apply the changes made to the ethics code issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) last month.
“The IESBA code now requires firms to publicly disclose when a firm has applied the independence requirements for public interest entities in an audit of the financial statements of an entity,” the release said. “The IAASB’s amendments provide a clear and practical framework for implementing this new requirement through appropriate communication in the auditor’s report and with those charged with governance.”
Throughout the development of these amendments, the IAASB maintained close collaboration and coordination with IESBA, striving to align key concepts in IAASB and IESBA standards, the release said.
IPSASB updates conceptual framework
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) published updates to the conceptual framework, a news release said, to ensure that the concepts are applicable to the preparation and presentation of public sector entities’ general purpose financial reports.
Updates to Chapter 3, Qualitative Characteristics, completes the board’s limited scope project, according to the release, which also included Chapter 5, Elements in Financial Statements, and Chapter 7, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements.
The updated chapters were informed by IPSASB’s experience using the conceptual framework since its approval in 2014, and by global developments, the release said, notably the IASB’s revisions to the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting in 2018.
As the board enters its next strategic phase, “the conceptual framework will continue to be a cornerstone of the IPSASB’s literature”, IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers said in the release. “These changes strengthen … and reinforce its relevance to both our financial reporting and new sustainability reporting activities.”
These updates are non-authoritative and are effective when published.
UKEB and other standards-setters address sustainability reporting concerns
The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) and other national standard-setters responded to the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB’s) recent agenda consultation, to address areas of concern surrounding the global sustainability disclosure standards, a news release said.
The Australian Accounting Standards Board, Canadian Accounting Standards Board, Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, and the New Zealand External Reporting Board joined the UKEB in highlighting three areas that require further attention from the ISSB, according to the news release:
- Connectivity with accounting standards — All considered that close alignment and connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting is paramount to ensure that the information produced for investors is compatible and comparable.
- Strategic roadmap — Communicating the ISSB’s long-term objectives and clarifying how these relate to the IASB’s roadmap was a critical next step.
- Implementation priority — The highest priority of the ISSB should be the successful implementation of the inaugural standards.
In a joint letter sent to ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and IASB Chair Andreas Barckow, the UKEB said that “feedback from UK stakeholders, as well as [our] own research, indicate that close alignment and connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting should be a priority for both boards and they do not consider that this is yet complete”.
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