Audit & Accounting Alert

Worldwide Update May 2019

Periodic roundup of recent and upcoming actions and activities by audit and accounting organizations throughout the world.

International

IASB– International Accounting Standards Board (www.ifrs.org)

IFRS for SMEs Modules, published March 5, 2019, is a series of 35 modules developed over the past couple years to assist those interested in “learning about, applying, or reading financial statements prepared using, the IFRS for SMEs Standard. Included with each module are sections covering requirements, significant estimates and other judgments, comparison with full IFRS Standards, test your knowledge and apply your knowledge.

 

IFAC– International Federation of Accountants (www.ifac.org)

International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB)– Exposure Draft, Proposed Revisions to Part 4B of the Code to Reflect Terms and Concepts Used in ISAE 3000 (Revised), issued March 27, 2019, proposes “changes in key terminology, including a revised definition of the term “assurance client”; enhanced and clarified independence requirements for attestation engagements; clarification of the types of assurance engagement addressed in Part 4B; simplified guidance on assurance engagements that refers to the definitive source of explanatory material on such engagements in IAASB literature.”… Read More

PCAOB Implements New Directions on Audit Oversight

Outlook for inspections and new audit report content put in place

When the PCAOB issued the Inspections Outlook for 2019in December, the term “transformation,” a word more often found in religious contexts, was used to describe the wide sweeping reassessment of the approaches for planning, conducting and reporting on the Board’s periodic examinations of audits and auditors. While some of the anticipated results will address longer range aspects, a number are to be implemented in 2019.

Following up, on March 14, 2019, the Staff Inspections Outlook for Audit Committees (Outlook) was published, spelling out the Board’s more robust intent for engagement with audit committees, along with delineation of key areas of inspection focus, as well as suggested questions audit committees may want to ask the auditors during the year.… Read More

Corporate and Audit Failures Lead Call for New British Regulator

Audit watchdog with more muscle to replace beleaguered Financial Reporting Council

The last issue of the Audit & Accounting Alert reported on the innovative, forward looking approach of the United Kingdom’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in tackling the challenges of financial reporting in the age of artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, the auditor watchdog role of the FRC has not fared as well in keeping pace with the rapid changes in the accounting and reporting complexities of organizations subject to its oversight.

With collapses like that of Carillion plc, the second largest construction company in the United Kingdom, in early 2018, and severe criticism of the company’s audits performed by KPMG, the government commissioned an independent review of the FRC (known as the Kingman Review) to determine what went wrong, and the appropriate actions to take.… Read More