IFAC SMP Committee Comment Letter on the IAASB's Discussion Paper, Audits of Less Complex Entities: Exploring Possible Options to Address the Challenges in Applying the ISAs

The SMPC strongly welcomes the Discussion Paper to explore possible options to address the challenges in applying the ISAs in audits of less complex entities. It believes this is an extremely important initiative that should be a high priority for the IAASB. There are concerns that the Board has in recent years had an increasing tendency to move away from developing truly principles-based auditing standards, to longer, more rules-based, complex and detailed standards that may not prove suitable for application in the SME audit market. As the global standard setter, there is a rising pressure and expectation for the IAASB to be seen to take meaningful action to address the challenges identified and minimize both the risk of the development of further disparate national standards, as well as concerns over audits attaining audit quality objectives.