The International Federation of Accountants
(IFAC) chief executive Ian Ball has reaffirmed the body’s view that
a single set of auditing standards is in the public interest.
“A single set of standards gives users
confidence that audits – whether small or large, simple or complex
– have been performed to the same high standards,” he remarked.
Ball made the statement to coincide with the
release of IFACs revised policy position paper, A Single Set of
Auditing Standards: Audits Of Small-And Medium-Sized
Entities.
The main revisions in the paper include
updates on the clarified International Standards on Auditing
(ISAs), other standards relevant to small and medium practitioners
that the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
(IAASB) has issued and tools and guidance made available to
practitioners by IFAC and the IAASB.
IAASB chairman Arnold Schilder said the use of
ISAs for audits of small- and medium-sized entities has been
brought into focus following the release of the European
Commission’s proposed audit legislation late last year.
“IAASB’s ISAs are designed to be applied in a
manner proportionate to the size and complexity of an entity’
Schilder said.
