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Accountancy Europe released a discussion paper outlining principles and good practices to support more effective and coherent audit supervision across the EU, with a particular focus on public interest entities (PIEs) and cross-border audit engagements involving multiple national authorities.
While acknowledging that national approaches to audit oversight differ due to varied legal, governance, reporting and market frameworks, the paper notes that many systems work well, especially for non-PIE audits, where oversight should remain primarily national. The intent is to identify areas where enhanced cooperation and consistency can add value within the current EU framework.
Key principles and suggested practices include:
The paper also sets out a number of recommendations to CEAOB that could help promote greater consistency in audit supervision across the EU while respecting national frameworks. Accountancy Europe continues to monitor developments in this area and to contribute to discussions on audit supervision in the EU.
The European Commission (EC) is updating the request to the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB), asking it to focus on developing EU-specific add-ons and possible carve-outs to ISSA 5000 for limited assurance on sustainability reporting.
Carve-outs could address elements that are not applicable in, or are contradictory with, EU legal provisions, while add-ons may cover items not addressed by ISSA 5000, such as double materiality, fair presentation, EU taxonomy disclosures, and digital marking-up requirements.
The EC underlines the need for assurance to remain proportionate and not impose unnecessary burden, while supporting confidence in sustainability reporting. Technical advice is expected by 30 September 2026.
Accountancy Europe updated its 2026 analysis of audit exemption thresholds in Europe, following the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/2775. The Directive increased EU size criteria by 25% to reflect accumulated inflation, prompting many Member States to reassess their national thresholds for small companies’ statutory audit obligations.
The survey shows a differentiated response across 32 European countries:
The results underline the diversity of national approaches to the audit of small entities and the ongoing importance of voluntary audit, review and other assurance services for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) launched a global stakeholder survey to gather input that will inform their respective 2028–2031 Strategies and Work Plans.
The survey seeks input on strategic priorities, emerging trends affecting audit, assurance, ethics and independence, and opportunities for coordinated action between the two boards. Responses will inform future consultation papers and will form part of the public record. The survey is open until 15 May 2026.
Accountancy Europe is planning to respond, contributing its views to the strategic discussion.
IAASB issued an Approach Statement outlining how the International Standard on Auditing for Less Complex Entities (ISA for LCE) will be maintained.
It details context, objectives, processes, responsibilities, outputs, and timing for updates, ensuring the standard remains relevant and aligned with core International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) in a proportionate manner. The approach aims to support consistent application of the ISA for LCE globally.
IAASB published narrow‑scope amendments to selected IAASB standards in response to recent revisions by the IESBA to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants related to the use of external experts.
The amendments update references and application requirements in IAASB standards to reflect the recent revisions in the IESBA Code. They apply to:
