IFAC SMP Committee Comment Letter to the IESBA Professional Skepticism Consultation

The SMP Committee supports the concept that professional skepticism should be applicable to all professional accountants and supports IESBA in giving greater consideration to the characteristics which should be expected of all professional accountants when complying with the fundamental principles. However, the term professional skepticism, as currently conceptualized by IAASB, is not suitable to be applied by all professional accountants. The SMP Committee believes that rather than debating the terminology, it is more important to focus on the characteristic that should and can be expected of a diligent accountant who follows all the fundamental principles. In this respect, more application guidance would be welcomed to drive behavior change over time.