IAASB Revises Standard for Auditing Special Purpose Financial Statements

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has finalized the changes in its standard for auditor reporting on special purpose financial statements.

The IAASB, which operates under the International Federation of Accountants, released ISA 800 (Revised), Special Considerations—Audits of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with Special Purpose Frameworks, and ISA 805 (Revised), Special Considerations—Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement.

The matter of reporting on special purpose financial statements is connected with the IAASB’s new and revised Auditor Reporting standards issued in January 2015, in particular ISA 700 (Revised), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, and with the new ISA 701, Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor’s Report. The amendments to ISA 800 and ISA 805 are limited to auditor reporting and are not intended to substantively change the underlying premise of these engagements in accordance with the extant ISAs.

“As a result of our more general work on auditor reporting, we found it necessary in the public interest to also make changes to ISA 800 and ISA 805,” said IAASB chairman Arnold Schilder in a statement. “Feedback from our stakeholders has helped us finalize these proposals and provide greater clarity about how the new auditor reporting enhancements apply in the context of special purpose financial statements.”
ISA 800 (Revised) and ISA 805 (Revised) will become effective at the same time as the auditor reporting standards addressing general purpose financial statements–for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after Dec. 15, 2016.

"The issuance of ISA 800 (Revised) and ISA 805 (Revised) marks another significant milestone in the IAASB’s continued work on the topic of auditor reporting," said IAASB technical director Kathleen Healy. “The board and its staff remain committed to promoting awareness of its new and revised Auditor Reporting standards and facilitating their effective implementation.”

For more information, visit www.iaasb.org/auditor-reporting.