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For many years, Canada’s auditing standard setters have been involved with the efforts of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) to develop global auditing standards. These efforts have culminated in the development of reformatted, and in some cases, revised: - International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) for the audits of financial statements and other historical financial information for all entities; and
- International Standards on Quality Control (ISQC) for firms.
Together, these new standards provide a basis on which auditors worldwide may conduct high-quality, consistent and comparable audits. The Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) adopted ISAs as Canadian Auditing Standards (CASs) for the audits of financial statements. The CASs constitute Canadian generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) for financial statement audits. No decision has yet been made on adopting international standards for other assurance engagements, such as reviews and compilations. The AASB also adopted ISQC 1, Quality Control for Firms, as CSQC 1, which applies to all firms performing assurance engagements. CSQC 1 came into effect on December 15, 2009. Who is affected?
All financial statement auditors in Canada. Preparers of audited financial statements should understand how changes in standards may affect the audit process, in particular, interactions between the auditor and the preparer. Timeline for Change
The change to Canadian Audit Standards came into effect for all financial statement audits for periods ending on or after December 14, 2010. CASs do NOT apply to other assurance work, such as reviews and compilations. Where to find the new Canadian Auditing Standards
The CICA Handbook – Assurance, which includes the new CASs, can be found here. |
