CAS 700, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements
Effective date: |
Effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 14, 2010 except for subsequent amendments. |
Overview
CAS 700, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, deals with the auditor's responsibility to form an opinion on the financial statements. It also deals with the form and content of the auditor's report issued as a result of an audit of financial statements.
It is written in the context of a complete set of general purpose financial statements and promotes consistency in the auditor's report. Consistency in the auditor's report, when the audit has been conducted in accordance with CASs, promotes credibility in the global marketplace by making more readily identifiable those audits that have been conducted in accordance with globally recognized standards. It also helps to promote the user's understanding and to identify unusual circumstances when they occur.
History of CAS 700
Date |
Development |
Comments |
June 2017 |
CAS 700 has been revised and reissued as a result of the issue of the new auditor reporting standards, including the issue of CAS 701, Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor's Report. |
The revised CAS 700 is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2018. Earlier application is permitted. |
December 2018 |
Paragraph C30 of CAS 700 was revised to require communication of key audit matters per CAS 700 for audits of complete sets of general purpose financial statements of entities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, other than entities required to comply with National Instrument 81-106, Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure. |
The amendment is affective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2020. Earlier application is permitted. |
December 2018 |
The AASB unanimously approved amendments to the effective date of paragraph 46 of CAS 700, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements. |
The requirement for the auditor to disclose the engagement partner name does not apply for auditor’s reports dated on or after December 15, 2018, for audits of financial statements of entities whose engagement partner name appears on Form AP, Auditor Reporting of Certain Audit Participants, to be filed with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) for that engagement. The amendments to CAS 700 will be included in a March 2019 Handbook update. This amendment to CAS 700 was included in a March 2019 Handbook update, and the related Basis of Conclusions in an April 2019 Handbook update. |
December 2019 |
Paragraph C30 of CAS 700 was revised to require communication of key audit matters per CAS 700 for audits of complete sets of general purpose financial statements of all listed entities, other than entities required to comply with National Instrument 81-106, Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure. |
The amendment in respect of key audit matters reporting by listed entities other than those listed on the TSX is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2022. Earlier application is permitted. |
December 2020 |
In March 2019, the effective date of paragraph 46 of CAS 700 was revised so that the requirement for the auditor to disclose the engagement partner name did not apply to audits of financial statements for periods ending before December 15, 2019, of entities whose engagement partner name appears on Form AP, Auditor Reporting of Certain Audit Participants, to be filed with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for that engagement. |
This was a one-year deferral. As this deferral has ended, the effective date paragraph is no longer needed and has been removed on December 1, 2020. |
November 2023
|
CAS 700 includes new requirements in paragraphs 28(c)(ii) and 50(e)(ii). They require the auditor to state in the auditor’s report that the auditor is independent of the entity in accordance with the independence requirements applicable to the audits of financial statements of certain entities. These requirements only apply when the relevant ethical requirements require the auditor to publicly disclose when the auditor applied independence requirements specific to audits of financial statements of certain entities. |
The new and revised requirements are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2024. |
Note: Our history summary does not take into account consequential amendments made as the result of other projects.