International

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) approved International Standard on Auditing 230 (Revised), Audit Documentation. It requires auditors to prepare documentation sufficient for an experienced auditor previously uninvolved in a particular audit to understand the work performed, the evidence obtained, significant matters arising during the audit and the auditor’s conclusions. The standard is effective for audits of financial periods beginning on or after June 15, 2006. It is available at www.ifac.org/store/details.tmpl?sid=1127941463516157 .

Meanwhile IFAC’s International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) issued four exposure drafts (EDs; www.ifac.org/eds ). ED 25, Equal Authority of Paragraphs in IPSASs, proposes that the Preface to International Public Sector Accounting Standards be revised to clarify that all paragraphs within IPSASs have the same authority. ED 26, Improvements to International Public Sector Accounting Standards, proposes changes to 11 accrual-basis IPSASs to better reflect developments in the equivalent international financial reporting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Comments are due January 31, 2006.

Comments are due February 10, 2006, on two other proposals. ED 27, Presentation of Budget Information in Financial Statements, would require that the general purpose financial statements of entities that are required to make their approved budgets publicly available include a comparison of budget and actual amounts. ED 28, Disclosure of Financial Information about the General Government Sector, would prescribe the basis on which information about the general government sector is to be disclosed in the general purpose financial statements of a government that elects to make such disclosure.