The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is currently seeking nominations for its newly created Data Analytics Project Advisory Panel (the “PAP”).

Background to the IAASB’s Work on Data Analytics

The IAASB established the Data Analytics Working Group (DAWG) to inform the Board as to how and when to respond to developments in technology, in particular data analytics, most effectively in the public interest. Since its inception in mid-2015, the DAWG has performed outreach with various stakeholders, including accounting firms, National Auditing Standard Setters (NSS), audit regulators and oversight authorities, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member bodies and representatives of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee. In September 2016, the IAASB released the DAWG’s Request for Input, Exploring the Growing Use of Technology in the Audit, with a Focus on Data Analytics, which provides insights into the opportunities and challenges with the use of data analytics in a financial statement audit and outlines the insights gained from the DAWG’s activities to date. The Request for Input is open for public comment through February 15, 2017, feedback from which will help the IAASB further consider its next steps.

Overview of Plans for a Project Advisory Panel (PAP)

A PAP provides the opportunity for the IAASB to further engage directly with subject matter experts and other interested parties on a particular topic. The objective of this PAP is to provide the IAASB’s DAWG and staff with additional expert insight on strategic and technical aspects related to using data analytics in a financial statement audit. The composition of the PAP is intended to provide the DAWG with perspectives from practitioners who have expertise in the area of data analytics, and others with a particular expertise or interest in data analytics more broadly. This may include, for example, financial statement preparers, users of financial statements, internal auditors, audit committee members, regulators, audit oversight authorities, academics, NSS, and IFAC member bodies.

How the PAP Will Contribute to the IAASB’s Work on Data Analytics

It is anticipated that the PAP would contribute to further informing the IAASB’s work on data analytics by:

• Advising the DAWG (and other IAASB Task Forces and Working Groups as necessary) on the developments in the use of data analytics in the audit, thereby further informing the IAASB’s thinking and approach to its standard-setting activities in this area. For example, the PAP could provide input on matters relevant to how data analytics can be used in risk assessment, a matter being considered as part of the IAASB’s project to revise International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 315 (Revised), Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement through Understanding the Entity and Its Environment.
• Serving as a technical resource to the IAASB and DAWG and providing an external perspective related to making use of data analytics in a financial statement audit.
• Acting as a sounding board to the DAWG in its consideration of feedback from the Request for Input and when exploring the potential way forward, including the implications of various course of action and the timing in which those actions should be undertaken.
• Providing input to the development of any guidance or materials the IAASB may determine is necessary.

As the role of the PAP is of an advisory nature, there is no need for consensus to be reached on issues, or for votes to be taken; however, input from all members will be considered by the DAWG.

Submitting Nominations

The membership of the PAP is likely to consist of between 15-20 individuals with diverse experiences from various geographic locations. The ideal candidates will have a background in technology or subject matter expertise in field of data analytics. Please submit a brief profile citing why you are interested in being a member of the PAP to IAASBmeetings@iaasb.org by no later than October 15, 2016. The IAASB expects to inform those individuals who have been selected to be a member of the PAP by December 15, 2016.

The PAP will not hold physical meetings, but will conduct its discussions and information sharing via teleconferences or electronically. The PAP teleconferences will be convened and chaired by Bob Dohrer, IAASB member and Chair of the DAWG. At present, the PAP is anticipated to utilize quarterly teleconferences, although the frequency of the teleconferences may change as the IAASB’s Data Analytics initiative involves. In the future, the IAASB may decide to conduct seminars, roundtables, public forum, or other meetings with interested stakeholders to explore aspects of making use of data analytics in a financial statement audit. To the extent a PAP member is invited to one of these events, any travel, accommodation or other related costs are to be met by the member, the member’s employer, or other organization sponsoring the member.

For More Information

More information and updates on the project are available on the IAASB's project page.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB CAG, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Demi Chung has joined the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) technical staff for a four-month secondment beginning August 2. 

Dr. Chung is an Undergraduate Studies Coordinator at the School of Accounting and a senior lecturer on international financial accounting standards at the University of New South Wales Business School in Sydney. Her research specializes in management controls, risk management by contract, and public private partnerships.

During her tenure with the IPSASB, she will be investigating accounting policies and guidance for infrastructure assets and broader asset measurement and assisting IPSASB Principal Gwenda Jensen in updating comparative information on accounting policies for the Heritage project. She will also be involved with the analysis of responses to ED 61, Amendments to Financial Reporting under the Cash Basis of Accounting (the Cash Basis IPSAS^®).

"We are delighted that Demi has joined our team," said IPSASB Technical Director John Stanford. "She will bring an academic perspective to our work and we will benefit from her insight and expertise." 

"I am thrilled to have the secondment opportunity with IPSASB," Dr. Chung added. "I look forward to making a contribution to public sector accounting standard settings and, at the same time, learning from my colleagues at the IPSASB."

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board^® has published Impairment of Revalued Assets (Amendments to IPSAS 21, Impairment of Non-Cash-Generating Assets, and IPSAS 26, Impairment of Cash-Generating Assets), which brings property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets on the revaluation model within the scope of IPSASB’s two standards on impairment, IPSAS 21 and IPSAS 26.

These amendments provide users with relevant information on impairment losses to property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets on the revaluation model. They also clarify that impairments to individual assets, or a group of assets within a class of property, plant, and equipment, in IPSAS 17, Property, Plant, and Equipment, do not necessitate a revaluation of the entire class to which that impaired asset or group of assets belongs.

The amendments have an effective date of January 1, 2018.

The IAASB has published full meeting highlights for its June 21-24, 2016, meeting.

An audio podcast discussing key activities and events from the meeting is also available. 

The 2013 edition of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements has been published in French.

This handbook contains the IPSASB’s pronouncements on public sector financial reporting—IPSAS 1-32—and Chapters 1-4 of the Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities.

The French translation was performed by the Conseil de normalisation des comptes publics, with the support of Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes and Conseil Supérieur de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables.

For an overview of translations of IFAC’s publications, please visit the Translations Database.

Highlights from the IESBA's June 27-29, 2016, meeting in New York, New York.

:10 - Introduction: Diane Jules, Deputy Director

:42 - Opening remarks: Stavros Thomadakis, Chairman

6:02 - Safeguards: Gary Hannaford, Member

9:35 - Part C, Professional Accountants in Business: Helene Agélii, Member

13:10 - Structure of the IESBA Code: Don Thomson, Member 

15:08 - Long Association: Brian Caswell, Member 

18:07 - Next meeting: Diane Jules, Deputy Director

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board^® (IAASB^®)’s new ISA^® 701, Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor's Report, and other revised standards designed to enhance auditor’s reports for investors and other users of financial statements, have been published in French.

The other revised standards consist of:

• ISA 260 (Revised), Communication with Those Charged with Governance;
• ISA 570 (Revised), Going Concern;
• ISA 700 (Revised), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements; and
• ISA 706 (Revised), Emphasis of Matter Paragraphs and Other Matter Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor's Report

In addition, three other French translations of International Standards on Auditing^® were published: ISA 800 (Revised), Special Considerations─Audits of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with Special Purpose Frameworks, ISA 805 (Revised), Special Considerations─Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts or Items of a Financial Statement, and ISA 810 (Revised), Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements.

These standards are effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2016.

The French translations were performed by the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.

For an overview of translations of International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) publications, please visit the Translations Database.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board will live stream several sessions of its June 2016 meeting in Toronto, Canada.

• Social Benefits (June 22 at 9 a.m. ET)
• Heritage (June 23 at 9 a.m. ET)
• Revenue and Non-Exchange Expenses, Session 1 (June 23 at 1:30 p.m. ET)
• Revenue and Non-Exchange Expenses, Session 2 (June 24 at 9:30 a.m. ET) 

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops accounting standards and guidance for use by public sector entities. It receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the Government Accounting Standards Board, the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the South African Accounting Standards Board, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

About the Public Interest Committee
The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial information.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants® (IESBA®)’s staff publication, Ethical Considerations Relating to Audit Fee Setting in the Context of Downward Fee Pressure, has been published in Spanish.

This publication was developed in response to stakeholder concerns about downward pressure on fees being a factor potentially adversely impacting audit quality. It highlights important considerations in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) for auditors in relation to the setting of audit fees.

The publication will be relevant to auditors when considering tendering for a new audit engagement, or when proposing or agreeing to fees for recurring audit engagements. It may also be of interest to those charged with governance, preparers, regulators and audit oversight bodies, investors, and others with an interest or role in auditors’ work and their independence.

The Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España performed this Spanish translation, which is a result of the Ibero-American cooperation framework, known as the IberAm project. Established in 2012, the IberAm project—which includes IFAC and its member organizations in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain—is an IFAC-authorized translation and review process that strives to achieve longer-term, sustainable processes for single, high-quality Spanish translations of international standards and other IFAC publications. The Interamerican Accounting Association, IFAC’s regional organization for Latin America and the Caribbean, is an observer to the project.  The project also involves a Review Committee of technical experts representing IFAC member organizations in nine Spanish-speaking countries.

An overview of translations of IFAC’s publications is available online in the Translations Database.

The 2015 IESBA Annual Report summarizes the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)’s achievements, project developments, and operating context in 2015.

In 2015, the IESBA achieved a high level of outputs with respect to standard setting, progressing all the projects on its Work Plan. The IESBA also continued to pursue an extensive stakeholder outreach program, sought closer coordination and cooperation with the IAASB, and dedicated attention to emerging issues of international relevance. Highlights include:  

• Issuing a final pronouncement on the topic of non-assurance services;
• Approving four Exposure Drafts (EDs) on the topics of non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR), the structure of the Code, safeguards, and long association;
• Agreeing revisions to the Code under Phase 1 of the Part C project, pending restructuring of the revised provisions;
• Establishing a working group to undertake fact finding regarding certain fee-related matters, and providing input with a view to finalizing a staff publication on fees; and
• Joining a tripartite working group with the IAASB and the IAESB to explore whether there may be opportunities for enhancements in the respective boards’ standards on the topic of professional skepticism in response to feedback from regulatory and other stakeholders.

The Annual Report includes messages from the independent Chairman Dr. Stavros Thomadakis and Consultative Advisory Group Chairman Kristian Koktvedgaard, and a report on 2015 project developments and highlights from Technical Director Ken Siong. See 2015 IESBA Annual Report to access the report.  

The IESBA is supported operationally by IFAC; thus, its financial results are included within IFAC’s audited financial statements, which are published as part of the 2015 IFAC Annual Review, which is forthcoming.