At its meeting on September 9- 10, 2019, the AASB unanimously approved amendments to CAS 700 which will require auditors to communicate key audit matters in the auditor’s report for audits of complete sets of general purpose financial statements of other listed entities for periods ending on or after December 15, 2022. This excludes listed entities required to comply with National Instrument 81-106, Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure.

The Board concluded that the revisions to the standard are significantly different from the proposals issued in its Exposure Draft, but decided not to re-expose the changes as they were based on the feedback received on the Exposure Draft. Once the Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council confirms that the AASB followed due process with proper regard for the public interest, the amendments will be included in the December 2019 Handbook update.

The AASB also discussed the status of matters that caused the deferral of paragraph 46 of CAS 700. This paragraph relates to disclosure of the engagement partner name in certain audit reports. The Board concluded that deferring paragraph 46 has served its purpose and that the issues which led to the deferral have been resolved. Accordingly, paragraph C5B will be removed from the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance in December 2020.

Review the executive summary on the AASB's Web site.

At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB discussed its draft response to the IAASB’s Discussion Paper. The Chair and Director will review the final letter prior to submission. The AASB also decided to form an Advisory Group to support staff and the Board on the Audits of Less Complex Entities project. The Advisory Group will help identify key issues related to audits of less complex entities in the Canadian environment and provide input to the AASB on proposals developed by the IAASB as this project evolves.

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At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB discussed its approach to responding to the IAASB’s material on non-authoritative guidance related to Emerging External Reporting, expected to be issued in January 2020. In this regard, the AASB decided to form an Advisory Group to support staff and the Board in reviewing and responding to materials issued by the IAASB. The Advisory Group will help identify key issues related to the evolution of audit in response to environmental changes in Canada.

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At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB provided input to the IAASB members from Canada on issues related to the IAASB’s project to revise ISA 600. The Board discussed:

1. using the “consolidation process” as a basis for determining whether an entity or business unit is a component;
2. including a requirement for the group engagement partner to review the overall audit strategy;
3. the importance of aggregation risk;
4. component materiality; and
5. various access issues at the component level related to people and information.

The AASB will continue to discuss this project at future meetings.

Review the executive summary on the AASB's Web site.

At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB provided input to the IAASB members from Canada on issues related to proposed ISA 315 (Revised). The Board discussed: (i) changes to the proposed requirements for understanding components of internal control; (ii) the proposed effective date; and (iii) re-exposure considerations of the final revised ISA 315. The IAASB expects to approve ISA 315 (Revised) in September 2019 and issue it in November 2019. The AASB plans to approve the Canadian equivalent standard shortly thereafter.

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At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB provided input to the IAASB members from Canada on issues related to the feedback received on the IAASB’s Exposure Drafts for quality management at the firm and engagement level, including engagement quality reviews. The AASB discussed the following key issues:

1. whether the IAASB should issue a survey and conduct additional outreach on the possibility of developing a separate quality management standard for related service engagements;
2. developing higher-level quality objectives to enhance scalability in proposed ISQM 1, adding risk considerations and clarifying required responses to assessed risks;
3. removing the concept of entities with “significant public interest” in proposed ISQM 2;
4. including component auditors in the definition of engagement team in proposed ISA 220 and;
5. clarifying the requirements in proposed ISA 220 that must be performed by the engagement partner and those where other members of the engagement team can assist the engagement partner.

Review the executive summary on the AASB's Web site.

At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB discussed the implications of the independence rules in the provincial Codes of Professional Conduct on the project to develop Canadian Standard on Related Services (CSRS) 4400. The AASB will continue to discuss this issue at future meetings.

Review the executive summary on the AASB's Web site.

At its meeting on September 9-10, 2019, the AASB discussed key issues related to the project to revise Section 9200, including: (i) the subsequent discovery of facts; (ii) amendments to the glossary of terms and the preface; and (iii) the effective date. The Board expects to approve the final standard at its October 2019 meeting.

Review the executive summary on the AASB's Web site.