The APB today issued:

• 33 new International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) (ISAs (UK and Ireland));
• A new International Standard on Quality Control (UK and Ireland) 1 (ISQC (UK and Ireland) 1); and
• A revised Statement of the Scope and Authority of APB Pronouncements.

The new standards replace the existing ISAs (UK and Ireland) and ISQC (UK and Ireland) 1 and apply to audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after 15 December 2010. For audits of accounting periods ending before that date the existing standards continue to apply.

The new standards are in a different format from the existing ISAs (UK and Ireland) and contain some new requirements and guidance. The APB staff have prepared a paper that summarises the main changes to the existing standards.

The new standards, the revised Statement of the Scope and Authority of APB Pronouncements, and the APB staff paper explaining the main changes, can be downloaded, free of charge, from the publications section of the  APB’s website. Printed and bound copies will be available in early 2010 (price £50 post free) from: FRC Publications, 145 London Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6SR. Telephone 020 8247 1264.

Richard Fleck, Chairman of APB, commented:

“The new international auditing standards that underlie the new ISAs (UK and Ireland) have been developed with significant input from regulators and stakeholders and are more rigorous and clearer than existing auditing standards in any country. The APB has concluded, after consultation, that the international standards are fit for purpose in the UK and Ireland and should be applied as soon as practicable. The APB hopes that these standards will be mandated for use within the European Union in the near future.”

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. Its functions are exercised principally by its operating bodies (the Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Practices Board, the Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the Professional Oversight Board and the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board) and by the FRC Board. The Committee on Corporate Governance assists the Board in its work on corporate governance.
2. The APB is committed to leading the development of auditing practice in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland so as to:
   • establish high standards of auditing;
   • meet the developing needs of users of financial information; and
   • ensure public confidence in the auditing process.
3. The new ISAs (UK and Ireland) and ISQC (UK and Ireland) incorporate the clarified ISAs and ISQC as issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The APB has augmented the international standards with supplementary requirements to address specific UK and Irish legal and regulatory requirements, and additional guidance that is appropriate in the UK and Irish national legislative, cultural and business context. The supplementary material is clearly distinguished from the original text of the international standards by the use of grey shading.
4. The IAASB’s “Clarity Project” was designed to improve the overall readability and understandability of ISAs through structural and drafting improvements, including:
   • Describing an objective for each ISA, and
   • Separating the requirements in each ISA from the application material,
5. In addition, 12 of the standards have also been substantively revised and two new standards introduced that address communicating deficiencies in internal control and the evaluation of misstatements.
6. The APB announced in March 2009, following a period of consultation, its intention to update UK and Irish auditing standards for the new international standards. Exposure drafts of the new UK and Irish standards were issued in April 2009. A feedback document explaining how the APB responded to the comments received and the main changes made in the final standards is available in the Exposure Drafts section of the APB’s website.
7. All press enquiries should be directed to: Jon Grant on Tel: 020 7492 2410.