In April 2023 the IAASB published its proposed revision of International Standard on Auditing 570 (Revised), Going Concern, with stakeholder comments requested by August 24, 2023.

To help those who use and rely on our standards understand the proposed revisions, we created three short videos on the changes, which you can watch below.

Why the Standard Needs an Update—and Changes

The IAASB’s auditing standard on going concern was last updated in 2015, as part of the IAASB’s project on the new and revised auditor reporting standards. Those enhancements to the standard focused only on matters relevant to auditor reporting and did not extend to other aspects of the auditor’s responsibilities and work related to going concern.

Corporate failures across the globe in recent years have again brought going concern to the forefront and led to stakeholder demands for enhanced transparency on going concern. Conditions, including wars and the global pandemic, have also caused heightened risks in this area. This has resulted in attention being focused on the challenges and issues pertaining to the auditor’s responsibilities and work related to management’s assessment of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, and the reporting thereof. In addition, the ongoing uncertainties in the broader economic environment and the more recent turmoil in the financial sector have again put a spotlight on the topic of going concern, further emphasizing the need for a more robust standard.

As a result, our stakeholders have continued to call on the IAASB to further enhance and clarify its auditing standard on going concern. There have also been various standard-setting initiatives ongoing in jurisdictions related to going concern, which further highlight the related broader public interest. These jurisdictional and regional developments have further highlighted the need for the IAASB to ensure that its going concern standard remains fit-for-purpose in the current and future macroeconomic and geopolitical environments.

Understanding the Proposed Changes

The revised standard aims to promote consistent practice and behavior from auditors, strengthen the auditor’s evaluation of management’s assessment of going concern, including by appropriate exercise of professional skepticism, and enhance transparency with respect to the auditor’s responsibilities and work related to going concern.

Watch our going concern video series below for an overview for key changes. IAASB Vice-Chair Josephine Jackson, Going Concern Task Force Chair Edo Kienhuis, and IAASB and Going Concern Task Force members Isabelle Tracq-Sengeissen and Wendy Stevens explain the key aspects of the proposed revisions. The video series also covers targeted aspects of the proposal, specifically the timeline over which the going concern assessment is made and transparency about going concern in the auditor’s report.

Kalina Shukarov Savovska
Kalina Shukarova Savovska

Principal

Kalina is a Principal, currently working on several IAASB projects, including the going concern and audit evidence projects. the listed entity and public interest entity projects.

Kalina previously worked with The World Bank in Vienna, Austria where she led activities involving capacity building and accountancy education, providing policy advice to client countries on corporate financial reporting reform and developing the accounting and auditing profession, with a primary focus on auditing standards. Prior to that, Kalina was an Executive Director with Ernst and Young with many years of practical audit experience.

Kalina is an ACCA and a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

Follow Kalina on LinkedIn.

Sally Ann Bailey

Sally Ann Bailey was a director with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, where she oversaw the fraud and going concern work streams. She has more then 20 years of experience in the auditing and assurance profession.

Prior to joining the IAASB, Sally Ann worked in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s professional practice network in the United States. Here, Sally Ann fulfilled several roles including focusing on standard-setting activities and group audit matters, as well as the communication of technical topics to Deloitte professionals. She also served as technical advisor to the Deloitte representatives on the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board and the Assurance Services Executive Committee.

Sally Ann participated in many standard-setting task forces and working groups, and led the drafting of numerous global and U.S.-specific comment letters.