Clarified Risk Standard Proposals Available

The AICPA released for exposure certain risk assessment standards rewritten as part of its clarity project. The proposed risk assessment standards have been redrafted into a format that clearly identifies objectives, relevant definitions, requirements, and application and other explanatory material. Comments on the exposure drafts are due April 30.

The clarified risk assessment standards released for exposure supersede SAS no. 106, Audit Evidence, SAS no. 107, Audit Risk and Materiality in Planning an Audit, SAS no. 108, Planning and Supervision, SAS no. 109, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement (Redrafted), and SAS no. 110, Performing Audit Procedures in Response to Assessed Risks and Evaluating the Audit Evidence Obtained (Redrafted).

The clarity project is similar to one recently completed by the IAASB that aims to clarify its ISAs. The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board developed a plan to converge U.S. GAAS with the ISAs while avoiding unnecessary conflict with PCAOB standards.