We are seeking practitioners to field-test selected proposal in the AASB’s Exposure Draft, “Proposed Revisions to the Canadian Auditing Standards for Audit Evidence and Risk Response”. The Exposure Draft proposes revisions to:
- CAS 330, The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks;
- CAS 500, Audit Evidence; and
- CAS 520, Analytical Procedures.
As part of the outreach related to this Exposure Draft, the AASB is conducting field testing of selected areas proposed in CAS 330 and CAS 500. We are looking for practitioners to volunteer for this important work.
Objective
The objective of the field testing is to obtain input on whether the selected requirements, and related application material, are understandable, implementable, and scalable.
Lessons learned from field testing will provide the AASB with a better understanding of which proposals are workable in practice, and which may present implementation challenges and need revisions. The results will also inform the AASB’s response letter to the IAASB on their Exposure Drafts.
Participating in the field testing also offers benefits to you and your organization by:
- providing an opportunity to gain early insight into the proposed changes and their potential impact on practice; and
- enabling you to share implementation perspectives with other participants and learn how others are approaching the proposals.
Who should participate?
The AASB is looking for participants from firms of all sizes and from the public sector. Participants may be practitioners who perform audit engagements or individuals in professional standards or methodology roles.
AASB staff will provide field testers with pre-reading material and hold an education session to share information on the proposed changes to CAS 330, CAS 500 and CAS 520.
What is involved in the field testing
Preparation
AASB staff will hold a virtual information session to help get participants started on the field testing.
Field-testing approach
Field testers will select two completed or in-progress audit engagements and may choose to field test one, some, or all of the areas below.
AASB staff will provide a spreadsheet to track field-testing results.
We expect that all client-specific information, including the client’s name, location(s), product or service details, and any other information that may lead to the identification of the client, will be redacted by the submitter before the information is shared with the AASB.
Feedback will be summarized and shared with the AASB and the Audit Evidence and Risk Response Advisory Group without identifying individual participants or organizations.
Field-testing areas
Proposed ISA 330: Approach to material classes of transactions, account balances and disclosures (COTABDs) that are not significant COTABDs.
- Field test whether the proposed enhancements to ISA 315 (paragraphs 38(e), A204A, and A230B-A233B) provide a sufficient basis for the auditor’s determination of material COTABDs not identified as a significant COTABDs.
- These conforming and consequential amendments are important given the proposed removal of the extant requirement (paragraph 18) and the related application material in ISA 330, which currently serves as a ‘safety net’ by requiring substantive procedures to be performed on all material COTABDs, regardless of assessed risk.
Proposed ISA 330: Responding to assessed risk through tests of controls alone.
- Field test the proposed new requirement in paragraph 16 and related application material. These establish a risk-based threshold for when it is appropriate for the auditor to respond to assessed risks of material misstatement at the assertion level using a tests-of-controls-alone approach, including the conditions that would need to be met for this approach to be appropriate.
Proposed ISA 500: Attributes of reliability that are of significance.
- Field test the proposed new requirement in paragraph 11, with a particular focus on paragraph 11(b), which requires the auditor to consider the attributes of reliability that are of significance in the circumstances to meet the intended purpose(s) of the audit procedures, when evaluating the reliability of information intended to be used as audit evidence.
- The threshold “of significance in the circumstances” is intended to address scalability by allowing the auditor to exercise professional judgment when considering which attributes of reliability need to be evaluated.
Debrief
After participants complete their field testing, a virtual debrief workshop will be held. Participants and AASB staff will discuss the findings and insights from field testing.
Insights from the workshop will be provided to the AASB to inform their response letter to the IAASB’s Exposure Draft.
Key dates
- Mid-September 2026 - Information session for participants
- Mid-September to early October 2026 – Participants conduct field testing
- Early October 2026 – Participants submit field testing results to AASB staff
- Mid-October 2026 - Debrief workshop with all field testers to discuss key findings.
Time Commitment
Field testing is estimated to take approximately 14 to 20 hours in total, including education and debrief sessions.
Interested in participating?
Contact Birender Gill ([email protected]) by Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
We value diversity and are committed to cultivating an inclusive, accessible environment where our volunteer base feels respected, valued and supported and is reflective of the Canadians we serve.
The AASB encourages all qualified candidates to contact us. If you require a disability related accommodation to participate, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to work with you to meet your needs as they relate to this volunteer opportunity.