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International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)

The Malta Institute of Accountants is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organisation for the accountancy profession.

Access global accountancy knowledge, resources and tools at IFAC’s Knowledge Gateway.

IFAC provides the structures and processes that support the operations of four independent standard-setting boards:

the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB);
the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB);
the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA); and
the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).

Links to Updates and More:

Sustainability Assurance: The IAASB is currently working on a project to develop an overarching standard for assurance on sustainability reporting. A Proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 was issued on 2nd August 2023 for public consultation until 1st December 2023. IAASB has a dedicated Focus Area Page for Sustainability Assurance, bringing together all existing IAASB content for assurance on sustainability reporting and other forms of extended external reporting. The target date for final approval is September 2024.

Audit Evidence: IAASB released an exposure draft on Proposed International Standard on Auditing 500 (Revised), Audit Evidence, and Proposed Conforming and Consequential Amendments to Other ISAs in October 2022. The comment period is now closed. Respondents feedback will start be considered in September 2023, with the target date for final approval being June 2024.

Going Concern: In April 2023, the IAASB released an exposure draft on Proposed International Standard on Auditing 570 (Revised 202X) Going Concern and Proposed Conforming and Consequential Amendments To Other ISAs for public comment until 24th August 2023. The target date for final approval is December 2024.

Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities: Exposure drafts on Proposed International Standard on Auditing of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities and Proposed Part 10, Audits of Group Financial Statements of the Proposed ISA for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities were issued for public comments. The target date for final approval is September 2023.

Fraud: The IAASB is expected to issue an exposure draft on ISA 240 - The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements in December 2023. Non-authoritative guidance illustrating the relationship between ISA 240 and other ISAs when planning and performing an audit engagement and reporting thereon, and how ISA 240 is currently applied in conjunction with the full suite of ISAs was released by IAASB in May 2022.

Listed Entities and PIEs: The IAASB is making narrow-scope revisions to the ISAs and ISQMs to respond to recent revisions to the IESBA Code (including International Independence Standards) regarding listed and public interest entities (PIEs). Read more on this project at Track 1 (completed in June 2023 to align with the effective date of the revisions to the IESBA Code in relation to listed entity and PIE, i.e. audits and reviews of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2024) and Track 2 (the target date for final approval is December 2024).

A Framework for Audit Quality: Key Elements that Create an Environment for Audit Quality and International Framework for Assurance Engagements.

Technology – Disruptive Technologies: The IAASB is taking a dual approach in this area through:

exploring how the Board can respond to technology via new or revised International Standards or non-authoritative guidance; and
activities around Disruptive Technologies to explore technology’s effect on audit and assurance in order to be prepared for technology disruption and be able to respond appropriately to support audit and assurance quality.

The IAASB has released a number of resources available here.

Quality Management: IAASB issued three new and revised quality management standards. Access the standards, Quality Management Series for small firm implementation, articles, videos, webinars and other resources from here.

Ethics: Ethics Considerations in Sustainability Reporting Including Guidance to Address Concerns about Greenwashing was issued by IESBA in October 2022. This question and answer publication highlights the relevance and applicability of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants to ethics-related challenges in the context of sustainability reporting and assurance, especially circumstances involving “greenwashing”.

IESBA Code: 2022 version of the IESBA Handbook of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants

IFAC PAIBAG Session Summary: Sustainability Reporting

Professional accountants have an opportunity to significantly influence the future of corporate and sustainability reporting.

The discussion during the last meeting of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)'s Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group (PAIBAG) centred around the important role that professional accountants in business play in the adoption and implementation of standards for sustainability-related reporting and disclosure.

Explore some takeaways from this discussion here.

IFAC: New Quality Management Toolkit

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), together with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), released a quality management toolkit with the aim of helping small and medium-sized practices (SMPs) implement the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) suite of quality management standards.

The toolkit, which includes a suite of illustrative documents, policies, checklists, sample letters and forms, is designed in a way as to require each SMP to adapt the content to its nature, circumstances, and engagements - a crucial element given each firm goes through its own unique process developing its quality management system.