New SSAE caps standards related to quality management

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) voted Wednesday to issue a standard that completes the suite of quality management standards ahead of the Dec. 15, 2025, deadline for firms to design and implement new QM systems for their accounting and auditing practices and to perform services in accordance with the new standards for engagements beginning on or after that date.

Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 23, Amendments to the Attestation Standards for Consistency With the Issuance of AICPA Standards on Quality Management, deletes the defined term “other practitioner” and replaces it with two new terms — “participating practitioner” and “referred-to practitioner.” The amendments differentiate the requirements related to other practitioners who are part of the engagement team (participating practitioners) and those who are not part of the engagement team (referred-to practitioners).

Firms have until Dec. 15, 2025, to establish a QM system in alignment with a set of statements issued by the ASB: Statement on Quality Management Standards (SQMS) No. 1, A Firm’s System of Quality Management, SQMS No. 2, Engagement Quality Reviews, and SQMS No. 3, Amendments to QM Sections 10, A Firm’s System of Quality Management, and 20, Engagement Quality Review; and to perform engagements in accordance with Statement on Auditing Standards No. 146, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 26, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services, and SSAE No. 23 as applicable, for engagements beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2025.

SSAE No. 23 primarily amends SSAE No. 18, Attestation Standards: Clarification and Recodification, as amended, AT-C Section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements, but it also amends:

• SSAE No. 19, Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements;
• SSAE No. 21, Direct Examination Engagements; and
• SSAE No. 22, Review Engagements.

The standard is expected to be available in June. The JofA has complete coverage of the QM transition to help firms switch from a quality control approach.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.