IESBA Staff Releases FAQS on Revised Fee-Related Provisions of IESBA Code


The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) released, January 31, 2022, a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the recently revised fee-related provisions of The International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code).* The FAQs have been informed by the extensive discussions and consultations with a wide range of stakeholder groups and the IESBA’s own deliberations during the development and finalization of the standard.

According to an IESBA press release, the publication is designed to highlight, illustrate or explain aspects of the revised fee-related provisions in the Code and thereby assist in their proper application. It is intended to complement the Basis for Conclusions for the final standard and assist national standards setters, professional accountancy organizations, and professional accountants in public practice (including firms) as they adopt and/or implement the revised provisions.

The publication is also intended to assist regulators and audit oversight bodies, the corporate governance community, investors, preparers, educational bodies or institutions, and other stakeholders in understanding the revised standard and its application.
------------------------------------------------
*That revised standard addresses a number of topics, including threats to independence created by fees paid by an audit client (including fees for services other than audit), fee dependency, and transparency of fee-related information to those charged with governance and to the public from an auditor independence perspective in the case of public interest entities. The revised standard becomes effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2022. Read the provisions here.

For more on the new guidance, see IESBA Staff Q&A: Revised Fee-related Provisions of the Code | IFAC (ethicsboard.org).

IPSASB Proposes Important Limited Scope Updates to Its Conceptual Framework
On February 1, 2022, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) released Exposure Draft (ED) 81, “Conceptual Framework Update: Chapter 3, Qualitative Characteristics and Chapter 5, Elements in Financial Statements.”

ED 81 is the second exposure draft resulting from the limited scope project to revise the IPSASB’s Conceptual Framework in specified areas. The exposure draft proposes updates to the chapters of the Conceptual Framework dealing with the attributes of financial information that make financial reporting useful-qualitative characteristics-and the building blocks of financial statements-elements.

In developing its proposals, the IPSASB considered the Board’s experience in applying the Framework to the development and maintenance of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), as well as recent developments in international thinking about conceptual issues.

“Since its publication in 2014, the Conceptual Framework has been the cornerstone of IPSASB’s global standards delivery activity” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “The ED 81 proposals are intended to address issues that have emerged in the Framework’s application in practice, so that it remains central to global public sector financial reporting.”

The ED 81 proposals include:

• Clarifying the role of prudence in public sector financial reporting.
• Revised definitions of an asset and a liability.
• Clarifying what constitutes a transfer of resources when determining whether an entity has a liability.
• Restructuring guidance on liabilities to improve clarity for users of the Framework.

For the details, visit Exposure Draft (ED) 81, Proposed Update to Conceptual Framework | IFAC (ipsasb.org).