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ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is welcoming the clarification of auditing standards with the issue of 33 new auditing standards, and a new standard on audit quality control.     

Aidan Clifford, ACCA’s Advisory Services Manager, said “Business changes, business processes change and auditing standards have to change too.  The new standards are more robust, clearer and a considerable improvement on the older versions.”

The more reliable financial statements are the more likely are investors to trust the financial statements and the lower the risk profile of the company.  A lower risk company can borrow more cheaply and so can do business more cheaply. Mr Clifford added: “More robust auditing standards actually reduce the cost of doing business and increase trade.”

For further information, please contact:

Aidan Clifford, Advisory Services Manager, ACCA Ireland - 087 2470205
Barbara Elliott, Touchstone Communications – 087 2933580

Notes to Editors
1. ACCA is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. We have 493,500 students and members in 170 countries worldwide. ACCA Ireland has 20,000 students and members.
2. ACCA has worked with governments, national organisations and development agencies in emerging economies- for over 20 years- promoting the accounting profession, to create value for the communities, businesses and individuals it serves.
3. ACCA believes that globalisation of business means that one set of reporting standards is essential. We favour the principles-based IFRS.
4. ACCA understands the real issues facing small businesses as 63,000 of our members work in SMEs or small partnerships worldwide.

Journalist briefing

See below the press release issued by the Auditing Practices Board, the issuer of auditing standards used in Ireland.   

Auditing Practices Board
Aldwych House, 71-91 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN
Telephone: 020 7492 2300       Fax:  020 7492 2399
www.frc.org.uk/apb

Press Notice

THE APB ISSUES NEW ISAs (UK AND IRELAND)

The APB today issued:
• 33 new International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) (ISAs (UK and Ireland));
• A new International Standard on Quality Control (UK and Ireland) 1 (ISQC (UK and Ireland) 1); and
• A revised Statement of the Scope and Authority of APB Pronouncements.

The new standards replace the existing ISAs (UK and Ireland) and ISQC (UK and Ireland) 1 and apply to audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after 15 December 2010.  For audits of accounting periods ending before that date the existing standards continue to apply.

The new standards are in a different format from the existing ISAs (UK and Ireland) and contain some new requirements and guidance.  The APB staff have prepared a paper that summarises the main changes to the existing standards.

The new standards, the revised Statement of the Scope and Authority of APB Pronouncements, and the APB staff paper explaining the main changes, can be downloaded, free of charge, from the Publications/Auditing Standards section of the APB’s website.  Printed and bound copies will be available in early 2010 (price £50 post free) from: FRC Publications, 145 London Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6SR. Telephone 020 8247 1264.

Richard Fleck, Chairman of APB, commented:

“The new international auditing standards that underlie the new ISAs (UK and Ireland) have been developed with significant input from regulators and stakeholders and are more rigorous and clearer than existing auditing standards in any country.  The APB has concluded, after consultation, that the international standards are fit for purpose in the UK and Ireland and should be applied as soon as practicable.  The APB hopes that these standards will be mandated for use within the European Union in the near future.”

Notes to editors

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. Its functions are exercised principally by its operating bodies (the Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Practices Board, the Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the Professional Oversight Board and the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board) and by the FRC Board. The Committee on Corporate Governance assists the Board in its work on corporate governance.

2. The APB is committed to leading the development of auditing practice in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland so as to:
• establish high standards of auditing;
• meet the developing needs of users of financial information; and
• ensure public confidence in the auditing process.

3. The new ISAs (UK and Ireland) and ISQC (UK and Ireland) incorporate the clarified ISAs and ISQC as issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).  The APB has augmented the international standards with supplementary requirements to address specific UK and Irish legal and regulatory requirements, and additional guidance that is appropriate in the UK and Irish national legislative, cultural and business context.  The supplementary material is clearly distinguished from the original text of the international standards by the use of grey shading.

4. The IAASB’s “Clarity Project” was designed to improve the overall readability and understandability of ISAs through structural and drafting improvements, including:
• Describing an objective for each ISA, and
• Separating the requirements in each ISA from the application material,
In addition, 12 of the standards have also been substantively revised and two new standards introduced that address communicating deficiencies in internal control and the evaluation of misstatements.

5. The APB announced in March 2009, following a period of consultation, its intention to update UK and Irish auditing standards for the new international standards.  Exposure drafts of the new UK and Irish standards were issued in April 2009.  A feedback document explaining how the APB responded to the comments received and the main changes made in the final standards is available in the Exposure Drafts section of the APB’s website.

6. All press enquiries should be directed to: Jon Grant on Tel: 020 7492 2410.