In her New Year message, IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias affirms the Board's commitment to supporting stakeholders in navigating uncertainty. Robust ethical baselines and principles are even more important in these times.
In her message, Ms. Dias highlights the IESBA’s commitment to supporting its stakeholders in upholding trust and the public interest, and looks ahead to the work the IESBA is carrying forward, including continued engagement on Firm Culture and Governance, the rollout of the SMART framework to strengthen how the IESBA supports its stakeholders and delivers more value, and a sustained focus on the adoption and implementation of recently issued standards.
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has published narrow-scope amendments to its standards arising from the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ (IESBA) Using the Work of an External Expert project.
These amendments respond to the IESBA’s recently approved revisions to its International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards), which introduced, among other provisions, explicit ethical requirements for using the work of external experts in audit, assurance, and non-assurance engagements. The IAASB’s updates reflect ongoing collaboration and coordination between the IAASB and IESBA and help to maintain interoperability between the IAASB standards and the IESBA Code.
The targeted amendments affect the following IAASB standards:
ISA 620, Using the Work of an Auditor’s Expert
ISRE 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements
ISAE 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information
This new edition compiles the full suite of International Education Standards (IES) 1–8, along with the supporting Framework and Glossary, and incorporates all recently revised and updated standards.
The 2026 Handbook of International Education Standards is organized to support the consistent adoption and implementation of the IESs, which establish the principles, concepts, and requirements that underpin high-quality accountancy education worldwide.
These amendments respond to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ recently approved revisions to its International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards), which introduced, among other provisions, explicit ethical requirements for using the work of external experts in audit, assurance, and non-assurance engagements.
The IESBA Focus series continues with a video spotlighting the Firm Culture and Governance project — a key initiative exploring how to develop a framework that supports the cultures and governance practices that shape ethical behaviour.
In this conversation, IESBA Vice-Chair @Channa Wijesinghe GAICD, FCPA, FCA explains the decisions taken at the IESBA December Board meeting and shares new information on the upcoming release of a series of IESBA Viewpoints, as well as the “Firm Culture and Governance Dialogues” to be announced in January 2026, which will shape our engagement with stakeholders.
"Decoding Ethics: Building trust in a tech-driven world" is a podcast of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) exploring the technological and ethical risks and opportunities shaping the future of accounting and finance. Through in-depth conversations with global thought leaders, Decoding Ethics helps professionals navigate change and lead with integrity in a tech-driven world.
Episode 1 - How can ethics keep pace with innovation?
In the first episode of "Decoding Ethics: Building trust in a tech-driven world", recorded live at the inaugural IESBA Ethics & Independence Conference in Lisbon, IESBA brings together leaders from EY, KPMG UK, and Responsible Intelligence to explore the impact of AI on audit and accounting, the importance of principle-based standards, and why trust is essential for technology to drive sustainable innovation in a tech-driven world.
