Auditor Reporting: The IAASB's #1 Priority

Contribute to the Future of Auditor Reporting

Oct 12, 2012 | English

The IAASB's June 2012 Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor’s Report provided an indicative direction of the board’s future standard-setting proposals to improve how and what auditors report. Starting on page 9, the ITC featured an illustrative auditor’s report with the IAASB’s suggested improvements, and provided the board’s rationale for them. It also discussed the potential value and impediments of each of the suggested improvements.

At the heart of the suggested improvements is the need for transparency on matters specific to the audited financial statements and the audit that was performed. A proposed new section in the auditor’s report, “Auditor Commentary,” is envisaged to be the mechanism by which auditors may call attention to matters that are, in the auditor’s judgment, likely to be most important to the users’ understanding of the audited financial statements or the audit. There are also suggested improvements with respect to new statements regarding going concern and other information in documents containing the audited financial statements, the description of the responsibilities of the auditor and key features of the audit itself, and enhancement to the format of the auditor’s report.

To further inform this important initiative, the IAASB held three global roundtables in 2012. These events brought together representatives from a broad range of stakeholder groups to share perspectives on the IAASB’s suggested improvements to the auditor’s report.