Overview of the latest Communications from the IAASB

09 September 2022
Accounting
South African Accounting Academy

IRBA has outlined these publications below, with a brief summary on what each covers:

IAASB Issues New Frequently Asked Questions for Reporting Going Concern Matters in the Auditor's Report (released on 1 August 2022)
- On 1 August 2022, the IAASB issued a non-authoritative publication to address some of the common questions related to reporting going concern matters in the auditor's report. Specifically, the publication focuses on the use of and the interrelationship between the Material Uncertainty Related to Going Concern and Key Audit Matters sections, on the one hand, and the Emphasis of Matter paragraphs in an auditor's report prepared in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs).
- Click here to download the publication: https://www.iaasb.org/publications/reporting-going-concern-matters-auditors-report
New Implementation Guide Available for Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement in an Audit of Financial Statements (released on 27 July 2022)
- Released on 27 July 2022, the First-Time Implementation Guide for ISA 315 (Revised 2019), Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement focuses on the more substantial changes that were made to ISA 315 (Revised 2019). It will also help stakeholders understand and apply the revised standard as intended.
- ISA 315 (Revised 2019) is effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2021.
- Click here to download the publication: https://www.iaasb.org/publications/isa-315-first-time-implementation-guide
IAASB's Public Report (released on 19 July 2022)
- On 19 July 2022, the IAASB published its Public Report, detailing its support for the public interest for the year ended 31 December 2021. During this 12-month period, it approved the final revised standard on group audits; agreed its Work Plan for 2022-2023 that included a dedicated workstream on enhanced sustainability assurance standards; as well as developed and implemented its Framework for Activities, among other actions.
- The year 2021 also included the transformational milestone of launching its first fully digital handbook, in collaboration with the International Federation of Accountants. The new online platform, e-International Standards, highlights the IAASB's commitment to improving the usability of, and access to, its standards by harnessing technology.
- Click here to download the publication: https://www.iaasb.org/publications/iaasb-2021-public-report-spearheading-change-enhance-confidence-audits-and-assurance
IAASB Digital Technology Market Scan: Natural Language Processing (released on 22 June 2022)
- The fourth market scan from the Disruptive Technology team was released on 22 June 2022. Building on its previous work, the IAASB issues a market scan approximately every two to three months. These scans consist of exciting trends, including new developments, corporate and start-up innovation, noteworthy investments and what it all might mean for the IAASB.
- In this latest market scan, the IAASB explores natural language processing (NLP), a technology that has applications within Accessing Information & Data (NLP and Computer Vision for Digitising Documents) and within Assessing Internal Controls (Optical Character Recognition, NLP and Machine Learning for Intelligent Document and Voice Analysis). This technology has the potential to impact many areas of the audit, enhancing the way auditors work and providing opportunities for greater insight.
- In addition to the topics that the market scans often cover, in this one it also explores what natural language processing is and why it is important.
- Click here to download the publication: https://www.iaasb.org/news-events/2022-06/iaasb-digital-technology-market-scan-natural-language-processing

These publications do not amend or override ISAs), the text of which alone is authoritative. Reading these is not a substitute for reading the standards.

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

In conducting an audit in accordance with ISAs, auditors are required to comply with all the requirements that are relevant to the engagement.
Auditors, Independent Reviewers and Accountants should also be aware of the latest publications issued by regulators and standard-setting boards, such as the IAASB – as this provides valuable guidance.

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