The PCAOB voted to adopt an amendment to a rule on the timing of
certain inspections of registered non-U.S. public accounting firms.
The amendment to PCAOB Rule 4003(g) gives the board the ability to
postpone, for up to three years, the first inspection of any foreign
registered public accounting firm that the board is otherwise
required to conduct before the end of 2009 and that is in a
jurisdiction in which the board has not conducted an inspection
before 2009. The rule does not extend the deadline for other
non-U.S. inspections required this year.
To help with transparency, the PCAOB intends to post a list of registered firms that have not yet had their first PCAOB inspection, even though more than four years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which they first issued an audit report while registered with the board. The list will be updated each year in January and July.
The rule takes effect upon SEC approval. More information can be found at tinyurl.com/n83qra (Rulemaking Docket no. 027).
The AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued two exposure drafts
resulting from its clarity project:
- Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS), Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements. The proposed SAS specifies quality control procedures at the engagement level that assist the auditor in achieving the objectives of the quality control standards. Because these procedures are required to be established by QC section 10, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, the proposed SAS is not expected to result in a change to existing practice. It supersedes AU section 161, The Relationship of Generally Accepted Auditing Standards to Quality Control Standards, which contains no requirements.
- Proposed Statement on Quality Control Standards (SQCS), A Firm’s System of Quality Control (Redrafted). The proposed SQCS does not change or expand QC section 10 in any significant respect, according to the ASB. It supersedes QC section 10, A Firm’s System of Quality Control.
The drafts can be viewed at tinyurl.com/6qwy7m. The comment period ended Aug. 31.
The
European Commission (EC) is considering the adoption of International
Standards on Auditing (ISA) issued by the International Auditing and
Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) for the statutory audits of
private-sector companies in the European Union. Following an analysis
of the comments received to the consultation paper the EU may decide
to adopt the ISAs. Comments on the EC’s consultation document are due
Sept. 15. It is available at tinyurl.com/kk2rbh.
