IAASB feedback statement on disclosure consultation

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11 Jan, 2012

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released a 'Feedback Statement' on the responses to its January 2011 Discussion Paper 'The Evolving Nature of Financial Reporting: Disclosure and Its Audit Implications'. The Discussion Paper solicited views and perspectives of different stakeholder groups on the challenges arising as financial reporting continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of users.

The Feedback Statement presents a summary of the range of views on some of the more significant challenges faced by participants across the entire financial reporting supply chain, including the impact of trends in financial reporting, applying materiality to disclosures, evaluating misstatements generated by disclosures, the availability of audit evidence to support disclosures, and work effort.

To address some of the issues identified respondents have called for more auditing guidance in certain identified areas. However, the majority of the respondents were of the view that some of the more important issues could not be addressed by the IAASB on its own, but would require international collaboration and cooperation, particularly with both the accounting standard setters—including the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and regulators.

The need for a 'Disclosure Framework' is a recurring theme in recent times. For instance, our comment letter (PDF 126k) on the IASB's Agenda Consultation noted the "development of a clear framework for disclosures in financial statements is critical and urgent".

Click for IAASB press release (link to IFAC website).

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