IAASB Publishes Final Amendments For Auditor Reporting On Special Purpose Financial Statements

On 7 January 2016, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) published amendments to the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) for auditor reporting for special purpose financial statements. These include ISA 800 (Revised), Special Considerations—Audits of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with Special Purpose Frameworks, and ISA 805 (Revised), Special Considerations—Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement.

The IAASB developed these standards to provide greater clarity about how the auditor reporting enhancements released in January 2015, specifically ISA 700 (Revised), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, and new ISA 701,Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor's Report, apply in the context of special purpose financial statements. The January 2016 amendments to ISA 800 and ISA 805, however, are limited to auditor reporting;