Proposed Revisions to the Definitions of Listed Entity and Public Interest Entity in the Code

IESBA
Jan 29, 2021 | Exposure Drafts and Consultation Papers
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Comments due by: May 03, 2021

This exposure draft proposes revisions to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) that broadens the definition of a public interest entity (PIE). These revisions include more categories of entities, given the level of public interest in their financial condition, for the purposes of additional independence requirements to enhance confidence in their audits.

Among other matters, the proposed revisions:

Introduce an overarching objective for additional requirements to enhance confidence in the audit of financial statements of PIEs.
Provide guidance on factors to consider when determining the level of public interest in an entity.
Broaden the definition of PIE to additional categories of entities.
Replace the term “listed entity” with the term “publicly traded entity” and redefine that PIE category.
Introduce new requirements for firms to determine if additional entities should be treated as PIEs for independence purposes and to publicly disclose if an audit client was treated as a PIE.
Recognize and encourage local regulators to refine PIE categories in regard to national conditions.

Comments requested by May 3, 2021.

The IESBA released a staff publication which provides additional context to the proposed revisions to the definition of a PIE. This staff publication supplements the guidance material in the explanatory memorandum of the Exposure Draft and is intended to assist local regulators, national standard setters, or other relevant local bodies in considering and planning adoption of the revised PIE definition when finalized and issued by the IESBA.

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Supplementary Guidance to Exposure Draft to Aid Local Body Considerations Regarding Adoption and Implementation

DOWNLOAD PDF (6.5 MB)

Submitted Comment Letters

1. Álvaro Fonseca Vivas (Colombia)
February 2, 2021

2. The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (HKICS) (Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China))
April 8, 2021

3. The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) (Malaysia)
April 14, 2021

4. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) (New Zealand)
April 28, 2021

5. Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) (Canada)
April 29, 2021

6. Crowe Global (CROWE) (United States)
April 29, 2021

7. Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) (Ghana)
April 29, 2021

8. Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) (Ireland)
April 29, 2021

9. Torrillo & Associates, LLC (Torrillo) (United States)
April 29, 2021

10. Argentina Federation of Professional Accountants and Economics (FACPCE) (Argentina)
April 30, 2021

11. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) (United Kingdom)
April 30, 2021

12. International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) (Spain)
April 30, 2021

13. KPMG IFRG Limited (KPMG) (United Kingdom)
April 30, 2021

14. Mazars Group (MAZARS) (France)
April 30, 2021

15. RSM International (RSM) (United Kingdom)
April 30, 2021

16. New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (XRB) (New Zealand)
May 2, 2021

17. Nexia International (NEXIA) (United Kingdom)
May 2, 2021

18. The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) (Korea, Republic of)
May 2, 2021

19. Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB) (Australia)
May 3, 2021

20. Association of Italian Audit Firms (ASSIREVI) (Italy)
May 3, 2021

21. BDO International Limited (BDO) (Belgium)
May 3, 2021

22. Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) (Botswana)
May 3, 2021

23. CFO Forum (South Africa)
May 3, 2021

24. Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) (Canada)
May 3, 2021

25. Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) (Cayman Islands)
May 3, 2021

26. Certified Practising Accountant Australia (CPAA) (Australia)
May 3, 2021

27. CohnReznick, LLP (CohnReznick) (United States)
May 3, 2021

28. Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEOAB) (France)
May 3, 2021

29. Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC) (Brazil)
May 3, 2021

30. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) (United States)
May 3, 2021

31. European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs (EFAA) (Belgium)
May 3, 2021

32. Federation of Accounting Professions (TFAC) (Thailand)
May 3, 2021

33. Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) (South Africa)
May 3, 2021

34. Institut der Wirtschaftspruefer in Deutschland e.V. (IDW) (Germany)
May 3, 2021

35. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) (Jamaica)
May 3, 2021

36. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) (United Kingdom)
May 3, 2021

37. Instituto Nacional de Contadores Públicos de Colombia (INCP) (Colombia)
May 3, 2021

38. MNP LLP (MNP) (Canada)
May 3, 2021

39. National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) (United States)
May 3, 2021

40. National Board of Accountants & Auditors – Tanzania (NBAAT) (Tanzania, United Republic of)
May 3, 2021

41. Nordic Federation of Public Accountants (NRF) (Norway)
May 3, 2021

42. Office of the Auditor General of Alberta (OAGA) (Canada)
May 3, 2021

43. Pricewaterhousecoopers International (PWC) (United Kingdom)
May 3, 2021

44. South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) (South Africa)
May 3, 2021

45. Swiss Expert Association for Audit, Tax and Fiduciary (EXPERTsuisse) (Switzerland)
May 3, 2021

46. Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey (TURMOB) (Turkey)
May 3, 2021

47. United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) (United States)
May 3, 2021

48. Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (WPK) (Germany)
May 3, 2021

49. Accountancy Europe (AE) (Belgium)
May 4, 2021

50. Baker Tilly International (BKTI) (United Kingdom)
May 4, 2021

51. Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) (Ireland)
May 4, 2021

52. Chartered Professional Accountants Canada (CPAC) (Canada)
May 4, 2021

53. Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY) (United Kingdom)
May 4, 2021

54. Moore Global (MOORE) (United Kingdom)
May 4, 2021

55. South African Institute Of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) (South Africa)
May 4, 2021

56. Grant Thornton International Ltd. (GTIL) (United Kingdom)
May 5, 2021

57. Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) (Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China))
May 6, 2021

58. AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee ((AICPA) (United States)
May 7, 2021

59. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) (United Kingdom)
May 7, 2021

60. Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) (France)
May 7, 2021

61. Cristian E. Munarriz (Argentina)
May 7, 2021

62. IFAC Small and Medium Practices Advisory Group (SMPAG) (United States)
May 7, 2021

63. Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) (Singapore)
May 10, 2021

64. Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) (Australia)
May 11, 2021

65. Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA) (Netherlands)
May 11, 2021

66. United Kingdom Financial Reporting Council (UKFRC) (United Kingdom)
May 11, 2021

67. Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) (Malaysia)
May 12, 2021

68. Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) (Uganda)
May 14, 2021

69. Japan Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA) (Japan)
May 18, 2021

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