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At-A-Glance
There’s an old maxim that goes “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Looking ahead can have a significant impact on future success. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board (ASB) recently published the ASB Strategic Plan 2026–2030. This issue of the Audit & Accounting Alert covers the highlights.
Also, our Worldwide Update covers news from organizations across the globe.
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ASB Strategic Plan
2026–2030
Board focuses on the next five years
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Another adage that synthesizes the risk from a lack of preparation is known as the “six p’s”: “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” This phrase brings back an embarrassing memory from my days as a US Army artillery lieutenant stationed in Baumholder, Germany.
As battalion adjutant, one of my responsibilities included making arrangements for officer activities. An annual event was the Saint Barbara Day dinner, held in Wiesbaden, about an hour or two’s drive away. (Saint Barbara is the patron saint of the artillery). I ordered a bus for the officers, since after drinking numerous toasts at the dinner, they would be in no condition to drive home. Unfortunately the bus that arrived could hold only 25 of the 29 officers. I could hear one officer remarking that Lieutenant Herter did not know the “six p’s”. With no time to order a larger replacement, I had no choice but to drive the four excess of us to the event in my car. I am still amazed that we got back home that night without an accident.
The ASB Strategic Plan 2026–2030 (Plan) opens with a statement of credentials: “The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is the senior committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA®) designated by the AICPA Council to issue auditing, attestation, and quality management standards and practice guidance for performing and reporting on (a) audit engagements for nonissuers (that is, entities not included within the jurisdiction of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board [PCAOB]) and (b) attestation engagements.”
Then the factors that drive the strategy are laid out:
- Advancement in, and use of, technology
- Increasing complexity and its implications
- Changing information needs of users
- Changing expectations of stakeholders
Then the factors that drive the strategy are laid out:
- Develop high-quality standards in the public interest
- Enhance communications with our stakeholders
- Think and operate more strategically
- Keep our standards relevant in a changing environment
- Support effective application of our standards
Develop high-quality standards in the public interest
Involves interacting with stakeholders and other forces to ascertain needs, timing, convergence with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), AICPA, and other boards, to produce timely and meaningful standards.
Enhance communications with our stakeholders
More direct interaction with small and medium-size firms and AICPA and other subject matter experts on specific projects.
Think and operate more strategically
Look ahead for potential opportunities, assess topics and issues, and the effectiveness of their management using key data indicators.
Keep our standards relevant in a changing environment
Stay current with emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and their use by practitioners.
Support effective application of our standards
Enhance access and communication of AICPA website materials, evaluate use and value for practitioners, consider post-implementation outreach, and seek understanding of the root cause of quality issues.
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Worldwide Update
Periodic roundup of recent and upcoming actions and activities by auditing and accounting organizations throughout the world.
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International
IASB – International Accounting Standards Board (www.ifrs.org)
- Exposure Draft - Amendments to the Fair Value Option for Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures Proposed amendments to IAS 28, issued February 19, 2026, “to clarify which investments a company is eligible to measure using the fair value option in IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures.” The comment period ends on April 20, 2026.
IFAC – International Federation of Accountants (www.ifac.org)
IFR4NPO - International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organisations (www.ifr4npo.org)
IOSCO – International Organization of Securities Commissions (www.iosco.org)
ACCA – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (www.accaglobal.com)
- Sustainability reporting: working with estimates, policy and insights report issued February 25, 2026, “demonstrates how to use reasonable estimates as a practical way of creating decision-useful sustainability information.”
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Africa, Europe, India and the Middle East (AEIME)
FRC – Financial Reporting Council of the UK (www.frc.org.uk)
- Amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime – Adapted formats, published February 18, 2026, “relate principally to entities which choose to adapt one of the balance sheet formats and/or one of the profit and loss account formats, and arise as a result of the replacement of IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements with IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements. Minor clarifications are also made in respect of the Periodic Review 2024 amendments.” Effective January 1, 2027.
ICAEW - Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (https://www.icaew.com/)
- UK Sustainability Reporting Standards: UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2, issued by the UK government February 25, 2026, “set out a framework for corporate disclosures. UK SRS S1 includes the general framework for applying UK SRS, as well as requirements on general sustainability-related risks and opportunities. UK SRS S2 sets out requirements on climate-related risks and opportunities.” The UK government has a consultation open with comments due by March 20, 2026. The standards are to be effective January 1, 2027.
EC – European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/)
EFRAG – European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (www.efrag.org)
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Americas, Asia, Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ)
AICPA & CIMA – American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org)
FASB – Financial Accounting Standards Board (www.fasb.org)
GASB – Governmental Accounting Standards Board (www.gasb.org)
- Exposure Draft - Financial Reporting Model Improvements—Subsidies, issued February 26, 2026, “containing questions and answers intended to clarify, explain, or elaborate on the requirements related to subsidies in Statement No. 103, Financial Reporting Model Improvements. The comment period ends on April 27, 2026.
COSO - The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (www.coso.org)
- Achieving Effective Internal Control Over Generative AI (GenAI), issued February 26, 2026, “a practical, COSO‑aligned approach to managing the risks and opportunities introduced by rapidly advancing generative AI technologies.”
PCAOB – Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (www.pcaob.org)
- Broker-Dealer Audit Focus: Related Party Transactions, released February 4, 2026, “highlights key reminders for auditors of broker-dealers from PCAOB standards related to audit procedures involving a broker-dealer’s revenue and expense transactions with related parties. It also provides the staff’s perspective on common deficiencies observed in broker-dealer inspections and shares good practices that the staff has observed.”
SASB – Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (www.sasb.org)
SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov)
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Audit & Accounting Alert is a publication of Integra International intended to highlight emerging issues in the profession. The goal is to give Integra members an awareness of developments impacting the practice of Audit & Accounting enabling them to stay on the forefront of industry trends.This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, or other professional advice. Please refer to your advisors for specific advice.
Editor Gerald E. Herter
www.Integra-International.net
© 2026 Integra International. All Rights Reserved.
If you wish to stop receiving email from us, you can simply remove yourself by visiting http://members.integra-international.net/members/EmailOptPreferences.aspx?id=66979517&e=lois.pares@integra-international.net&h=d523ac69369762eb987573d57c33e956f959035d.
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