Auditing Standards Board proposes changes to attestation standards

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) published proposed updates to attestation standards, in part to address sustainability information and other emerging areas of assurance.

The exposure draft is open for public comment through June 30.

According to a news release, the proposed changes reflect the ongoing evolution in attestation services in which practitioners are increasingly asked to provide services beyond audits of the financial statements, in areas such as sustainability, digital assets, cybersecurity, governance, and related controls.

The ED consists of two main parts:

• Updates to the baseline attestation standards to address evolving practice.
• Two new AT-C sections related to engagements to report on sustainability information.

Adoption of the updates is expected to occur next year, according to the news release, pending revisions after the comment period and further deliberation by the ASB. The updates would become effective for engagements beginning on or after June 15, 2029.

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