A global search has begun for highly qualified volunteers to fill seven volunteer openings on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) as Board Member for an initial term of up to 3 years, commencing January 1, 2021.

As a result of the IAASB’s normal rotation cycle, the current search, being conducted by a nominating committee, is for one public member, one non-practitioner member and five practitioner members. All stakeholders, including the general public, are invited to apply or nominate candidates. 

For public member and non-practitioner vacancies, the nominating committee is interested in candidates from a wide range of relevant backgrounds, including: users of audited financial statements or assurance reports (e.g. institutional investors and analysts, audit committee members, and individuals from the corporate governance community); regulatory and audit inspection or oversight bodies; preparers of financial reports; academics; and individuals in the government sector.

For practitioner vacancies, nominations of candidates from small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) are strongly encouraged.

Candidates should have experience with auditing and/or assurance issues and sufficient knowledge of the subject matters considered by the IAASB to be important to contribute effectively to the board’s work. English proficiency is essential and gender balance remains an area of focus for the board. Additionally, nominations from currently underrepresented regions (Latin America, Africa and the Middle East), are strongly encouraged.

The IAASB is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by setting, under its own authority, high-quality international standards. The nominations process, with public interest oversight, aims to select the most suitable candidates for the available positions, while also aiming to achieve gender, regional and professional balance.

For more information and to learn how to submit an application before the January 31, 2020 deadline, please visit the nominating committee’s web page.

A global search has begun for highly qualified volunteers to join the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) as board members for an initial term of up to 3 years, commencing January 1, 2021. The search, being conducted by a nominating committee, is for five non-practitioner and public members and one practitioner member.

Candidates should have experience with issues relating to ethics and independence and sufficient knowledge of the subject matters considered by the IESBA to contribute effectively to the board’s work.

Anyone, including the general public, is invited to apply or nominate candidates. For practitioner vacancies, nominations of candidates from small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) are strongly encouraged. For non-practitioner vacancies, the nominating committee is particularly interested in applications from: 

• preparers of financial statements;
• users of audited financial statements or assurance reports, including investor representatives;
• members of the corporate governance community;
• regulators;
• policy makers; and
• academics.

English proficiency is essential, and an emphasis will be placed on nominations from the Asia, Latin America-Caribbean and Africa-Middle East regions. Additionally, gender balance remains an area of focus for the board.

The IESBA is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by setting high-quality, internationally appropriate ethics standards for professional accountants. The nominations process, with public interest oversight, aims to select the most suitable candidates for the available positions, while also aiming to achieve gender, regional and professional balance.

Deadline for submitting applications is January 31, 2020. Please visit the nominating committee’s web page for more information about the vacancies and to learn how to submit an application via our online database.

The 2019 Education Handbook contains the IAESB’s suite of International Education Standards (IES) 1-8. The handbook's organization focuses on supporting the IESs, which present the underlying principles, concepts, and definitions that enhance accountancy education.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) Technology Working Group recently published its second Technology Communiqué (link), which provides an update on the IAASB’s efforts to incorporate the use of technology by auditors in an ever changing audit environment. This communique also includes other relevant news and information relevant to technology.

This Communique does not constitute an authoritative pronouncement of the IAASB, nor does it amend, extend or override the ISAs or other of the IAASB’s International Standards.

To view the Communique, click here.

As part of the IAASB’s technology focus, this is the second in a series of publications that provides an update on efforts to appropriately address the technology related issues in recently and soon-to-be issued standards and exposure drafts. It also includes additional relevant news and information on technology in audit, and recent technology working group activities.

Professional accountants and other business professionals are often faced with complicated, real world situations that are not black and white and demand pragmatic and ethical solutions. To help address these challenging situations, IFAC is releasing the first installment in a new series titled: Exploring the IESBA Code.

Through twelve monthly installments, Exploring the IESBA Code will take an in-depth look at the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code).  Each installment of the series will highlight different aspects of the Code in real-world situations, in a manner that is relatable and practical. A special focus will be placed on recent revisions to the Code.

The first installment of the Exploring the IESBA Code deals with the five Fundamental Principles of ethics, which establish the standard of behavior expected of all professional accountants - a standard which enable accountants to uphold their responsibility to act in the public interest.

To read and download this and future installments, visit the IFAC website.

The Exploring the IESBA Code was published by IFAC and does not form part of the Code. It is non-authoritative and is not a substitute for reading the Code. 

For more information about the Code, please click here.