The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has opened a consultation on proposed narrow-scope amendments to achieve greater convergence with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ (IESBA’s) Code of Ethics (the Code), a news release said.
The IAASB’s proposed revisions have two key objectives, the release said. “First, they would align definitions and requirements in IAASB standards with new definitions for publicly traded and public-interest entities (PIE) in the IESBA Code,” the release said. “Second, the amendments would extend the applicability of existing differential requirements for listed entities to meet heightened stakeholder expectations regarding audits of public-interest entities.”
Key proposed revisions, according to the release, include:
- Engagement quality reviews;
- Providing transparency in the auditor’s report on specific aspects of the audit, including auditor independence, communicating key audit matters, and the engagement partner’s name; and
- Communicating with those charged with governance to help them fulfil their responsibility overseeing the financial reporting process, such as communicating about quality management and auditor independence.
The IAASB invites stakeholder feedback by 8 April. Comments can be submitted online.
New report highlights importance of cyber resilience
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Bank of England, and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published the latest annual CBEST thematic report, a news release said. The report, which contains cyber resilience good practice and insight from the National Cyber Security Centre, is being published in full for the first time.
“Cyber resilience is a top priority” for the entities, the FCA said in the release. “Disruptions from cyberattacks can impact financial stability, cause intolerable harm to consumers or other market participants, or disrupt market confidence.”
The report also highlights the need for organisations to simulate a range of cyber testing scenarios to remain resilient to threats.
IFAC releases literature review addressing sustainability and education
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released a publication that highlights key themes in current sustainability-related education.
The literature review, titled Educating Accountants for a Sustainable Future: A Literature Review of Competencies, Educational Strategies, and Challenges for Sustainability Reporting and Assurance, is designed to provide insights on how the global accountancy profession can meet stakeholder demands for relevant and reliable reporting.
“Recent years have seen a significant shift in demand for relevant sustainability-related disclosure, reporting, and assurance, and the accountancy profession is working to prepare current and future professionals to meet these stakeholder demands,” a news release said. “The literature review identifies the new and existing competencies required of professional accountants to provide these services; educational strategies to develop them; and the challenges the accountancy education community will face.”
This review also informed IFAC’s decision to make sustainability-related revisions to the International Education Standards, the release said. The review will also contribute to forthcoming proposed revisions from IFAC, which are expected to be issued in the second quarter of 2024.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
