Auditing Standards
What are the objectives of an audit?
The objectives of an audit are set out in
International Standard on Auditing 200. "Overall objectives of he independent auditors and the conduct of an audit in accordance with international standards on auditing", paragraph 11:
"In conducting an audit of financial statements, the overall objectives of the auditor are:
(a)To obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, thereby enabling the auditor to express an opinion on whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework; and
(b) To report on the financial statements,
and communicate as required by the ISAs (Ireland), in accordance with the auditor’s findings.”
What are the underlying standards for auditors?
Auditors carry out audit engagements under a set of standards called International Standards on Auditing (ISA).
These may be ISAs (Ireland) issued by IAASA , ISAs (UK) issued by the FRC or the ISAs issued by the IAASB depending on the location of the engagement.
Ireland ISAs
The Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) adopts auditing standards for use in Ireland under licence from the Financial Reporting Council in the United Kingdom. The standards issued by IAASA include:
- Quality control standards for firms that perform audits of financial statements or other public interest assurance engagements,
- Ethical and engagement standards for audits of financial statements, and
- Guidance for auditors of financial statements and auditors involved in other public interest assurance engagements.
The standards can be downloaded from IAASA.
UK ISAs
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) develops and maintains auditing and assurance standards and guidance for engagements that are performed within the United Kingdom, these standards are based on standards that have been issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) published by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and used with the permission of IFAC.
These standards can be downloaded from the FRC.
International ISAs issued by IAASB
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by setting high-quality international standards for auditing, quality control, review, other assurance, and related services, and by facilitating the convergence of international and national standards.
A handbook of the standards and related publications by the IAASB can be downloaded.
Chartered Accountants Ireland can accept no responsibility for the content on any site that is linked to from the Institute website. Links are provided in good faith for the potential support of members and students.
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