Recently, IESBA provided a formal response to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) on the public consultation: Proposed Global Internal Audit Standards. The IESBA commended the IIA’s efforts in making the proposed standards clearer and easier and agree that it is an important strategic priority and in the public interest to ensure international standards such as the IIA standards and IESBA Code remain fit-for-purpose and relevant in addressing key issues users of the standards face.
In IESBA’s response, the global ethics standards setting board highlighted the importance of a comprehensive framework, such as the IESBA’s conceptual framework, to assist internal auditors to identify, evaluate, and address threats to the principles set out in the proposed IIA standards when performing their internal audit function
The IESBA raised its concern in the use of well-established terms such as “independence” and “professional skepticism”, as these terms are generally used in the context of external audit and assurance engagements.
A Case Study on SAICA's Activities in the Public Sector
Given the scale and complexity of public finances, competing demands on public resources, and the need for transparency and accountability for the management of public funds, the demand for finance and accounting professionals is high.
Various media revelations, such as the Paradise Papers and the Pandora Papers, have highlighted the important role tax intermediaries play in facilitating tax structures that contribute to billions of euros of lost tax revenue in the EU every year. To address this issue, the European Commission has announced a proposal with the objective of preventing enablers from setting up complex structures in non-EU countries for tax evasion and aggressive tax planning purposes. This initiative would complement the Unshell Directive, which sets out criteria for identifying entities that lack minimal economic substance within the EU.
IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias will speak at a public hearing organized by the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) on July 17, 2023 from 15:00 to 16:30 CEST in Brussels, Belgium.
The event, “Tackling the role of enablers involved in facilitating tax evasion and aggressive tax planning in the European Union (SAFE),” will be introduced by Paul Tang, FISC Chair. Other speakers include Olivier Boutellis-Taft (CEO, Accountancy Europe) and Ivan Lazarov (Research Associate, International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD)). A question-and-answer session with Members of the FISC Subcommittee will follow. The public hearing will help inform the European Parliament's opinion on the new legislative proposal.
