The invasion of Ukraine has devastating impacts. We condemn the Russian government’s attacks on Ukraine and are concerned about all people affected by these acts of war. While the EU and individual countries impose sanctions, European accountants need to step up and address how these, and other consequences of the war, affect their activities. As the situation evolves, professional accountants must continue being in self-questioning mode and apply their ethical values. We draw their attention to points of alert on anti-money laundering (AML), cybersecurity, accounting, audit, and reporting to help them do the right thing in these difficult times. Read more
The feedback period for the European Commission’s (EC) Call for evidence and Consultation on corporate reporting has been closed.
Responses to the Call for evidence are available on the initiative’s webpage and contributions to the Consultation, including some statistical information, have also been made available (see here). The total of valid responses received, according to the EC’s webpage, is 219. As informed in the February issue of our Audit Update, Accountancy Europe has submitted its responses and made them available here.
Note that a summary or analysis of the responses is not yet available. The EC’s legislative proposals remain planned for the fourth quarter 2022.
The Committee of the European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) has published its 2022 work programme and the detailed plans of each of its sub-groups which, amongst other matters, refer to:
The 2022 work programme also includes a revised mission statement of the CEAOB, with more prominence given to supporting audit quality, and its newly defined core strategies.
Note that apart from its new work programme, the CEAOB has recently made available:
The IAASB released an implementation guide for the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 220, Quality Management for an Audit of Financial Statements. This standard deals with the specific responsibilities of the auditor regarding quality management at the engagement level for an audit, and the related responsibilities of the engagement partner.
Along with the suite of quality management standards, it was released in December 2020 and will come into effect on 15 December 2022.
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) released for public comment two Exposure Drafts, proposing revisions to the Code of Ethics, relating to:
In the context of the ongoing audit reform in the Netherlands, the Dutch Quartermasters have published their third progress report.
The Quartermasters are (cautiously) more positive than in the earlier reports, but continue to emphasise that further steps need to be taken, especially in the field of accountancy firms’ culture. They refer to the report of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) which sees gradual improvements in audit quality. The AFM report pointed out room for improvement but also highlighted things that are going well in the sector.
The quartermasters have also:
Read more (in Dutch)This curated content was brought to you by Júlia Bodnárová, Accountancy Europe Senior Advisor since 2017. You can send her tips by email and connect with her on LinkedIn.