International Standards on Auditing

Accountancy
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Key concepts
Accountant · Bookkeeping · Cash and accrual basis · Constant Item Purchasing Power Accounting · Cost of goods sold · Debits and credits · Double-entry system · Fair value accounting · FIFO & LIFO · GAAP / International Financial Reporting Standards · General ledger · Historical cost · Matching principle · Revenue recognition · Trial balance
Fields of accounting
Cost · Financial · Forensic · Fund · Management · Tax
Financial statements
Balance sheet · Statement of cash flows · Statement of changes in equity · Statement of comprehensive income · Notes · MD&A
Auditing
Auditor's report · Financial audit · GAAS / ISA · Internal audit · Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Professional Accountants
ACCA · CA · CGA · CMA · CPA  · PA

International Standards on Auditing (ISA) are professional standards for the performance of financial audit of financial information. These standards are issued by International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) through the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). There are 2 sets of ISA, the ISA by the IAASB and the ISA (UK and Ireland) by the Accounting Practices Board (APB) . The ISA (UK and Ireland) was edited from the original ISA, and thus is more comprehensive than the original ISA.

List of the Standards (ISAs)

Respective responsibilities

• ISA 200 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 210 Terms of Audit Engagements
• ISA 220 Quality Control for Audits of Historical Financial Information
• ISA 230 Documentation
• ISA 240 The Auditor's Responsibility to Consider Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 250 Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 260 Communication of Audit Matters with Those Charged with Governance

Audit planning

• ISA 300 Planning an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 310 Knowledge of the Business
• ISA 315 Understanding the Entity and its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement
• ISA 320 Audit Materiality
• ISA 330 The Auditor's Procedures in Response to Assessed Risks

Internal Control

• ISA 400 Risk Assessments and Internal Control
• ISA 401 Auditing in a Computer Information Systems Environment (withdrawn, superseded by ISA 315, ISA 330 and ISA 402)
• ISA 402 Audit Considerations Relating to Entities Using Service Organisations

Audit evidence

• ISA 500 Audit Evidence
• ISA 501 Audit Evidence - Additional Considerations for Specific Items
• ISA 505 External Confirmations
• ISA 510 Initial Engagements - Opening Balances
• ISA 520 Analytical Procedures
• ISA 530 Audit Sampling and Other Means of Testing
• ISA 540 Audit of Accounting Estimates
• ISA 545 Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures
• ISA 550 Related Parties
• ISA 560 Subsequent Events
• ISA 570 Going Concern
• ISA 580 Management Representations

Using work of other experts

• ISA 600 Using the Work of Another Auditor
• ISA 610 Considering the Work of Internal Auditing
• ISA 620 Using the Work of an Expert

Audit conclusions and Audit report

• ISA 700 The Auditor's Report on Financial Statements
• ISA 710 Comparatives
• ISA 720 Other Information in Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements

Specialized areas

• ISA 800 The Auditor's Report on Special Purpose Audit Engagements
• ISA 810 The Examination of Prospective Financial Information

Use of the ISAs

• European Union: The Audit Directive of 17 May 2006 enforces the use of the International Standards on Auditing for all Statutory audit to be performed in the European Union.

The Audit Directive of 17 May 2006 is important in order to ensure a high quality for all statutory audits required by Community law requiring all statutory audits be carried out on the basis of all international auditing standards. The Directive has given implementing powers to the European Commission, in order to adopt “en bloc” the ISAs in accordance with the Council Decision of 28 June 1999, also known as the “Comitology Decision”.

• European Court of Auditors: the European Court of Auditors performs its audits in accordance with the IFAC and INTOSAI International Auditing Standards and Codes of Ethics, in so far as these are applicable in the European Community context.
• The United Nations Board of Auditors (the external audit of the UN) has adopted the ISAs although this Board is composed of three Supreme Audit Institutions chairmen, usually using the INTOSAI Auditing Standards.

See also

• External audit standards
  • Hong Kong Standards on Auditing
  • International Public Sector Accounting Standards, of the IPSASB standard-setting board of the IFAC.
  • The INTOSAI Auditing Standards or ISSAI of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, which are public sector external audit standards.
  • Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
  • Engagement Letter

• Other standards
  • International Financial Reporting Standards
  • Internal Audit standards, cf. Institute of Internal Auditors

External links

• IFAC Represents 2 500 000 accountants in 120 countries
• List of the Standards (ISAs) List of the Standards (ISAs) @ifac.org
• http://www.INTOSAI.org Institution for public sector audit standards

Notes and references

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