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THE CLARITY PROJECT
In 2004, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) undertook a programme in which the objective was to enhance the clarity of its ISAs. The IAASB said that the overall aim of its clarity project was to enhance the understandability of the ISAs which would then enable consistent application of the standards and improve audit quality on a worldwide level.
All of the ISAs have been rewritten as part of the Clarity project. Each standard is now structured in a new way, with clear objectives, definitions and requirements, together with application and other explanatory material. The structure of the new standards makes it easier to understand what is required and what is purely guidance. In addition, ISQC 1 ‘Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements’ has been rewritten and the revised guidance on quality control procedures will also become effective at the same time as the Clarified ISAs.
A summary of the clarity project is as follows:
- 19 ISAs and ISQC 1 ‘Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Service Engagements’ have been redrafted. You will see ‘(redrafted)’ contained after the ISA/ISQC 1 number.
- 16 ISAs have been both revised and redrafted to reflect the new Clarity conventions and format. You will see ‘(revised and redrafted)’ contained after the ISA number.
- Two new ...
