This event focuses on the skills needed for accountants to maintain and enhance their trusted leadership position working with or for companies in industry or practice. Target audience is anyone aspiring to become a qualified accountant; those who are already studying to be accountants and those who have already qualified as accountants and want to assess what skills they need to consider acquiring or improving.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released a public survey seeking broad stakeholder input to inform the development of its Strategy and Work Plan (SWP) 2024-2027. The survey can be downloaded from the IESBA’s website. Responses are requested by Friday, July 8, 2022.

“The accountancy profession plays a critically important role in supporting economic growth and stability worldwide in these uncertain and rapidly changing times,” said IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias. “The IESBA must therefore be open, agile and proactive in evolving the Code so that it remains robust and relevant in safeguarding public trust and confidence in the work of professional accountants as the context and the challenges change. The ultimate purpose of IESBA’s future SWP is to actively respond to the changing needs of the economic system by providing appropriate and relevant standards for professional accountants as they adapt their professional activities and work methods and evolve their services to meet those changing needs.”

The survey seeks input from all stakeholders on what key trends, developments or issues the IESBA should consider as it begins the process of developing its SWP 2024 – 2027. The SWP is expected to be finalized by the end of 2023 for release in early 2024.

Click here for more information. 

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released a revised definition of a PIE together with other revised provisions in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code). The revised provisions specify a broader list of categories of entities as PIEs whose audits should be subject to additional independence requirements to meet stakeholders’ heightened expectations concerning auditor independence when an entity is a PIE.

“The concept of a PIE is central to the application of the IIS and determines how far an auditor must go in meeting the fundamental requirement to be independent,” said IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias. “The revised definition and related provisions represent the third pillar in our package of measures to significantly strengthen auditor independence in the public interest, following the release of our revised Non-Assurance Services and Fees standards last year.”

To recognize diversity in jurisdictional contexts, the IESBA has taken a novel approach of expanding the PIE definition globally at a high level while providing guidance to regulators, national standard setters and other relevant local bodies on tailoring the broad definition for jurisdictional specificities. Among other matters, the revisions also:

• Articulate an overarching objective for additional independence requirements for audits of financial statements of PIEs.
• Provide guidance on factors to consider when determining the level of public interest in an entity.
• Replace the term “listed entity” with a new term “publicly traded entity,” providing a definition of the latter term.
• Recognize the essential role local bodies responsible for the adoption of the Code play in delineating the specific entities that should be scoped in as PIEs in their jurisdictions, encouraging them to properly refine the PIE categories and adding any other categories relevant to their environments.
• Introduce a transparency requirement for firms to publicly disclose the application of independence requirements for PIEs where they have done so.

The IESBA coordinated the development of these revisions closely with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) given that some of the terms and concepts that were considered are common to both Boards’ standards. The IAASB is pursuing a project to consider a number of matters relevant to its standards arising from the finalization of the IESBA’s PIE provisions, including whether and how to address the transparency requirement noted above in the IAASB’s standards.

The revised PIE definition and related provisions become effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and encouraged.

The IESBA is also releasing a number of conforming amendments to the Code as a result of the issuance of the IAASB’s suite of quality management standards in December 2020. These conforming amendments will be effective as of December 15, 2022.

In December 2020, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued its suite of quality management standards (ISQM 1, ISQM 2, and ISA 220 (Revised)). As a result of the finalization of those standards, the IESBA considered it is necessary to make certain conforming amendments to the Code.   

These conforming amendments will be effective as of December 15, 2022.

The revised provisions include an expanded definition of “public interest entity” (PIE) in the Code by specifying a broader list of PIE categories, including a new category “publicly traded entity” to replace the category “listed entity.” The revised provisions also recognize the essential role local bodies responsible for the adoption of the Code play in delineating the specific entities that should be scoped in as PIEs in their jurisdictions, encouraging them to properly refine the PIE categories in the expanded definition and adding any other categories relevant to their environments.

Click here to watch IESBA's April 5th webinar on the Board's recently released exposure draft Proposed Technology-related Revisions to the Code, which includes changes to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code). This one-hour zoom-based event also included an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in a questions and answers session with the presenters, Mr. Richard Huesken, IESBA member and Chair of the Technology Task Force, and Mr. Gregory Driscoll, IESBA technical advisor and member of the Technology Task Force.

The IESBA’s technology exposure draft represents the IESBA’s firm response to the transformative effects of technology by enhancing the Code’s robustness and expanding its relevance in an environment being reshaped by rapid technological advancements. The proposed amendments will guide the ethical mindset and behavior of professional accountants in business and in public practice as they deal with changes brought by technology in their work processes and the content of the services they provide. The proposed revisions build on the role and mindset changes that became effective last December, and the revised Non-Assurance Services (NAS) provisions that will become effective in December 2022.

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As part of EU Skills Week 2022, ACCA, IFAC and Green Finance Platform are thus delighted to welcome you to discuss with renowned experts from the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Investment Fund, the OECD, academics and the accountancy profession what are the skills and education needed for finance professionals to play their part in contributing to the Green Transition.