AASB Discussion Paper – Exploring Standard-Setting Options for Audits of Less Complex Entities

Background

The AASB issued this Discussion Paper to:

1. seek views on possible options that the Board might explore in Canada to address the challenges of applying CASs to audits of less complex entities (LCEs); and
2. encourage Canadian stakeholders to provide views to the Board on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) Exposure Draft, “Proposed International Standard on Auditing for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities.”

The AASB’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan outlines its commitment to “provide solutions that respond to the environment for small and medium-sized entities and allow practitioners to apply standards in a scalable and proportional way on the less complex elements of an entity.”

The AASB believes practitioners’ ability to apply the CASs to LCEs in a scalable and proportional way is critical to performing high-quality, cost-effective audits that serve the public interest.

This Discussion Paper explores three possible options that the AASB might consider undertaking, including pursuing a separate standard for audits of LCEs in Canada. Stakeholder views are essential to the Board’s decision on the direction of its future work.

The Board invites all interested parties to respond, including:

• practitioners and audit firms of all sizes;
• lenders and other users of financial statements;
• regulators, including provincial CPA bodies;
• developers of audit tools and methodologies; and
• academics.