During a recent outreach trip to South Africa, IAASB Chairman Prof. Arnold Schilder was a guest on CNBC Africa's "Closing Bell South Africa" program, where he discussed the new and revised auditor reporting standards and their importance to stakeholders.
The World Economic Forum has ranked South Africa’s auditing and reporting standards #1 in the world in its Global Competitiveness Index for 2014-2015.
"Auditor reporting in the future will become much more informative to outside users that so far didn't hear anything from the auditor except the final conclusion, the auditor's opinion," Prof. Schilder told CNBC Africa. "In the future, you will see five, six pages with unique information coming from the auditor about the audit and that's very relevant to users of that information."
The objective of the project was to focus auditors on addressing disclosures throughout the audit process by:
Enhancing the requirements in various ISAs to drive changes in the auditor’s approach and improve consistency in practice to more specifically address disclosures, in particular qualitative disclosures.
Clarifying the auditor’s work effort in relation to disclosures by providing additional guidance to assist auditors in better applying the requirements relating to disclosures.
El Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Auditoría y Aseguramiento® (IAASB®) ha publicado la Norma Internacional de Auditoría TM (NIATM) 720 (revisada), Responsabilidades del auditor relacionadas con otra información en documentos que contienen estados financieros auditados. Las revisiones pretenden aclarar y aumentar la participación del auditor en "otra información" —definida en el estándar como información financiera y no financiera, diferente a los estados financieros auditados, que figura en los informes anuales de las entidades.
"El informe anual es un documento indispensable para los inversores. En el interés público es importante que el auditor lleve a cabo una ‘lectura inteligente’ de un informe anual -a partir del conocimiento adquirido en la auditoría- y realice determinados procedimientos para garantizar la consistencia del informe anual con los estados financieros auditados", explicó el profesor Arnold Schilder, Director del IAASB.
El estándar incluye igualmente nuevos requerimientos relacionados con el informe de auditoría sobre otro tipo de información, que complementan los cambios resultantes de los estándares nuevos y revisados para los informes de auditoría emitidos a principios de este año. Paralelo a aquellos estándares, la NIA 720 (revisada) entrará en vigor para auditorías de estados financieros correspondientes a periodos terminados el 15 de diciembre de 2016 o en adelante.
"Los documentos consultados y considerados por el auditor, y los resultados del trabajo de auditoría correspondiente a estos documentos serán ahora transparentes para los usuarios de los informes de auditoría", explicó Kathleen Healy, Directora Técnica del IAASB. "Al articular específicamente cuáles son las responsabilidades del auditor frente a otro tipo de información, como por ejemplo que la opinión del auditor no cubre esta información, se proporcionará a los usuarios el contexto adecuado sobre el cual considerar el informe anual de una entidad". El estándar busca igualmente abarcar las dificultades prácticas que pueden surgir cuando una parte de esta otra información (o su totalidad) no se encuentra disponible en la fecha del informe de auditoría y, bajo estas circunstancias, recomienda comunicaciones adicionales en los informes del auditor para las entidades cotizadas.
Se encuentran actualmente disponibles el documento de los Fundamentos de las Conclusiones preparado por el personal técnico, el cual explica la lógica del IAASB frente a sus decisiones, y el documento At a Glance, que explica los cambios principales en la NIA actual.
Acerca el IAASB El IAASB desarrolla normas y guías de auditoría y aseguramiento para uso de todos los contadores profesionales, bajo un proceso compartido de emisión de normas que involucra al Consejo de Supervisión del Interés Público (PIOB), el cual supervisa las actividades del IAASB, y del Grupo Consultivo Asesor del IAASB, el cual genera aportes de interés público para el desarrollo de normas y guías. Las estructuras y los procesos que soportan las operaciones del IAASB son facilitados por la Federación Internacional de Contadores® (IFAC®).
Acerca de la IFAC LaIFAC es la organización global para la profesión contable, dedicada a servir el interés público a través del fortalecimiento de la profesión y contribuir en el desarrollo de economías internacionales sólidas. La IFAC se compone de 175 miembros y asociados en 130 países y territorios, representando aproximadamente a 2,5 millones de contadores en la práctica pública, la educación, el gobierno, la industria y el comercio.
IAASB’s Revised Standard ISA 720 Enhances Auditor Focus on Annual Reports in Light of Increased Investor Focus on Qualitative Disclosures
New and Revised Auditor Reporting Standards – A Response to Investors’ Call for Change
In January 2015, the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board® (IAASB®) released its new and revised Auditor Reporting standards. As noted by IAASB Chairman Prof. Arnold Schilder, the new and revised standards will reinvigorate the audit, as auditors substantively change their behavior and how they communicate about their work.
The most significant enhancement is the new requirement for auditors of financial statements of listed entities to communicate “Key Audit Matters” – those matters that the auditor judges to be of most significance in the current period audit, with an explanation of how they were addressed in the audit. The IAASB has also focused efforts on enhancing auditor attention and communication on matters related to going concern in the auditor’s report.
Work on the topics of quality control, group audits and special considerations related to financial instruments has commenced and was discussed at the IAASB’s most recent meeting.
Highlights of the IAASB’s Most Recent Meeting
The IAASB last met in Brussels in March 2015. Meeting highlights and a podcast summary of key meeting outcomes can be found on the IAASB’s Meetings page.
The IAASB also agreed that amendments to certain of its standards may be necessary as a result of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ project on Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR).
Outreach and Collaboration
The IAASB has continued its extensive outreach program contemplated in its Strategy. It has compliled a detailed listing of its outreach activities. Recent activity of note includes:
Meetings with the Monitoring Group as a whole as well as its member organizations, for example:
Commencing discussions with international supervisors and prudential regulators in the banking and insurance industries to inform the project relating to special audit considerations relating to financial institutions.
Continued dialogue with the PIOB, including participating in a joint meeting with the PIOB, the Chairs of the IAASB, IESBA and International Accounting Education Standards Boards and their Consultative Advisory Groups (CAGs).
Semi-annual meeting with the IAASB CAG to obtain their input on the topics on the IAASB’s agenda from both a strategic and technical perspective.
Country-specific outreach to the UK, including meetings with investors, regulators, accounting firms, professional accountancy organizations and other thought leaders.
Together with the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE), outreach to audit committee members in Europe to discuss the effects of the enhancements arising from the Auditor Reporting project on audit committees and matters related to audit quality more generally.
Liaison with the International Accounting Standards Board to consider challenges arising from new financial reporting standards and the potential implications of these changes on the auditing standards.
Continued engagement with accounting firms, through meetings with the Global Public Policy Committee (GPPC), Forum of Firms, and Small and Medium Practices Committee, on both strategic and technical matters.
Investor Advocate Assumes Role of the IAASB CAG Chair
Matthew Waldron, an investor advocate and current Director of the Financial Reporting Policy Group at the CFA Institute, assumed the role of chair of the IAASB CAG on April 1, 2015. He succeeds Prof. Linda de Beer, who had served as IAASB CAG Chair since September 2010. Mr. Waldron had been the CFA Institute’s representative to the IAASB CAG since 2008 and his prior experience includes working for KPMG, PwC, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
Next Meetings
The next IAASB meeting will be held in New York, USA, on June 15-19, 2015. The agenda and meeting materials are posted approximately three to four weeks in advance on the IAASB Meetings page. Members of the public may register to observe the meetings and registration closes one week before the first day of the meeting.
The next IAASB CAG meeting is scheduled for September 15-16, 2015 in New York, USA.
Listen to the podcast below. See the March 2015 Meeting page for additional materials, including meeting highlights, agenda papers, and full audio recordings.
This publication, Auditor Reporting – Illustrative Key Audit Matters, has been prepared by the IAASB’s Auditor Reporting Implementation Working Group. The publication is intended to illustrate how the concept of Key Audit Matters (KAM) may be applied in practice in accordance with ISA 701, Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor’s Report.
