CATEGORIES
- (4) Negotiating Tax Debt and Payment Arrangements with SARS
- (2)Account / Profile
- (551)Accounting
- (2)Accounting and Finance
- (29)Audit
- (157)Auditing and Assurance
- (1)Business
- (1)Business Management
- (3)Business Rescue
- (102)CIPC
- (7)Compliance
- (18)Ethics and Professionalism
- (46)Financial Reporting
- (1)Government Funding Applications
- (4)Guides
- (1)Individuals Tax
- (28)Law
- (37)Legal and Compliance
- (2)Management
- (13)Miscellaneous
- (29)Money Laundering
- (1)Personal & Professional Development
- (2)Practice Management
- (2)Professional Ethics
- (3)Public Sector
- (145)Regulatory Compliance and Legislation
- (41)SARS Issues
- (29)Sustainability Reporting
- (42)Tax
- (1)Tax Update
- (9)Technology
- (1)Wills, Estates & Trusts
- Show All
IESBA: Staff Q&As on IESSA
- 13 June 2025
- Ethics and Professionalism
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has compiled and published Questions & Answers (Q&As) to explain key aspects of IESSA in order to support effective implementation of the ethics and independence standards for sustainability assurance engagements.
Article:
The IESBA Staff Questions and Answers publication is intended to assist sustainability assurance practitioners (SAPs), jurisdictional standard setters, professional accountancy organizations, and accreditation bodies as they adopt and implement, or apply the provisions in the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (including International Independence Standards) (IESSA™).
It focuses on ethics and independence considerations for practitioners performing sustainability assurance engagements.
Topics covered include, inter alia:
- The scope of the ethics and independence standards in IESSA
- Independence considerations for group sustainability assurance engagements, including value chain components
- Independence considerations applicable to using the work of another practitioner
- Providing non-assurance services to a sustainability assurance client
- Effective date of the IESSA
- Appendix 1 – Independence considerations applicable to assurance work performed at a Value Chain Component
- Appendix 2 – List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Developed in close coordination and launched in January 2025, ISSA 5000 and IESSA provide a coordinated global assurance and ethics framework for sustainability assurance engagements.
Click here to download the 21-page document:
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
- As an accountant, auditor and independent reviewer, you need to be aware of and consider the information contained in publications by various professional bodies and standard-setters, e.g. IESBA, IAASB, etc. – so that you can apply this in the performance of your duties – especially with regards to sustainability assurance and the related ethics.



