Developing an international assurance standard on greenhouse gas statements

Worldwide public concern over climate change and the need to limit greenhouse gas (hereafter, GHG) emissions has increasingly motivated public officials to consider more stringent environmental regulation and standards. The authors argue that the development of a new international assurance standard on GHG disclosures is an appropriate response by the auditing and assurance profession to meet these challenges. At its December 2007 meeting, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (hereafter, IAASB) approved a project to consider the development of such a standard aimed at promoting trust and confidence in disclosures of GHG emissions, including disclosures required under emissions trading schemes. The authors assess the types of disclosures that can be assured, and outline the issues involved in developing an international assurance standard on GHG emissions disclosures. The discussion synthesizes the insights gained from four international roundtables on the proposed IAASB assurance standard held in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe during 2008, and an IAASB meeting addressing this topic in December 2008.

The competitive market for assurance engagements on greenhouse gas statements : is there a role for assurers from the accounting profession?

In response to current and increasing demand for assurance on greenhouse gas statements, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released an exposure draft of a new assurance standard, ISAE 3410 'Assurance on a Greenhouse Gas Statement' (IFAC 2011), to provide comprehensive guidance on these types of greenhouse gas (GHG) assurance engagements. Internationally, approximately 50 percent of GHG statements are independently assured. The related assurance market is competitive, with the accounting profession and those outside the profession currently holding approximately equal shares. This paper highlights the characteristics of GHG assurance engagements that warrant multi-disciplinary teamwork, the unique and interdependent skill-sets that different practitioners bring to these engagements, and the market forces that create a demand for diverse providers.

Enhancing the auditor's report : to what extent is there support for the IAASB's proposed changes?

This article outlines proposed reforms to auditor reporting currently being considered by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and other key national and transnational standard-setters and regulatory bodies. It adds to recent academic contributions on reforming the auditor’s report by analyzing the 165 stakeholder responses to the IAASB’s 2012 Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor’s Report to determine levels of support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms, and the differences, if any, between the views of various respondents based on stakeholder groups (e.g. audit and assurance firms, users, preparers, regulators, etc.) and regional classifications. Guided by insights from communication theory, our results show the levels of stakeholder support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms addressing auditors’ expectations, information and communication gaps are mixed. The strongest overall support was for enhanced auditor reporting on other information attached to, or intended to be read with, the financial statements, and the least supported initiative was including additional information in the auditor’s report about the auditor’s judgements and processes. Whilst overall there is generally consensus across both stakeholder groups and regions concerning the various questions investigated, we highlight where statistically significant differences between groups do exist. Notably, North American respondents were less likely to support a number of the IAASB’s proposed reforms than their counterparts from other regions.

Identificación de riesgos de error material en auditorías externas de estados financieros, aplicadas por los auditores independientes del municipio de San Salvador.

La presente investigación tiene sus orígenes desde el siglo XV, cuando se presumía que la auditoría fue incentivada por la necesidad del hombre de llevar a cabo actividades de observación, investigación, comprobación y verificación de la información financiera generada por las empresas; para ser más concretos nació en el seno de algunas familias pudientes de Inglaterra, otorgando a la palabra “Auditor” el significado de “Persona que Oye”. Desde hace ya algunos años, el ejercicio de los contadores públicos es vital en el proceso de auditorías de estados financieros, lo cual conlleva a la necesidad de estructurar a profundidad aspectos relevantes para el desarrollo de las auditorias, entre los cuales el riesgo de error material es fundamental, no solo por la importancia del tema, sino además porque son ellos quienes expresan una opinión acerca de la razonabilidad de las cifras de la información financiera sujeta a revisión y estudio. Y es ahí donde surge el IAASB (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board), que es el ente encargado de emitir normas y lineamientos de auditoría y atestiguamiento para uso de todos los profesionales, en virtud de un proceso de auditoría de establecimiento de normas, el cual proporciona información de interés público sobre el desarrollo de auditorías, incluyendo en este como identificar riesgos de error material mediante el entendimiento de la entidad y su entorno. La investigación de esta problemática, surgió con la necesidad de los contadores de herramientas de apoyo para ejercer la profesión, que se apegan a la normativa técnica contable de nuestro país; por lo que objetivo principal que persigue esta investigación es diseñar cuestionarios de control interno para la identificación de riesgos de error material en auditorías externas de Estados Financieros, aplicadas por auditores independientes del municipio de San Salvador. Durante la investigación de campo, se notó que la mayoría de los auditores utiliza diferentes técnicas para identificar riesgos de error material, lo que da la pauta que es indispensable contar con una herramienta de apoyo, que incorpore el entendimiento de la entidad y su entorno, así como el control interno, además de la aplicación de las políticas para el logro de sus objetivos, estos aspectos ayudan a detectar los fraudes y errores, no olvidando que las investigaciones con la administración son de mucha utilidad. Uno de los obstáculos en la entrevista fue la falta de recopilación de información sobre cuáles son las técnicas que utilizan estos auditores para identificar riesgos. Finalmente, se concluye que los conocimientos técnicos sobre el riesgo de negocio son primordiales para los auditores, que el entendimiento de riesgos de errores materiales es fundamental al momento de ejecutar auditorías externas de estados financieros y que la evaluación del control interno y los riesgos del negocio son importantes para la identificación de errores materiales. Para lo cual se recomienda, establecer una planificación de auditoría con base al análisis de la entidad y de los posibles riesgos de negocio, mediante el análisis del entorno. Es indispensable que los profesionales que ejercen la auditoría, cuenten con una base técnica que les permita identificar estratégicamente aquellos riesgos de error material que afecten adversamente el logro de los objetivos que persigue la entidad, sin dejar atrás el estudio y evaluación del control interno de la entidad auditada, ya que se consideran puntos clave para identificar riesgos.

GHG emissions standard on its way

Throughout the world, there is increasing pressure on governments, companies,regulators and standard-setters to respond to the global challenge of climate change. The growing number of regulatory requirements for organisations to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emergent national, regional and international emissions trading schemes (ETSs) reflect key government responses to this challenge. Assurance of GHG emissions disclosures enhances the credibility of these disclosures and any associated trading schemes. The auditing and assurance profession has an important role to play in the provision of such assurance, highlighted by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) decision to develop an international GHG emissions assurance standard. This article sets out the developments to date on an international standard for the assurance of GHG emissions disclosures. It then provides information on the way Australian companies have responded to the challenge of GHG reporting and assurance. Finally, it outlines the types of assurance that assurance providers in Australia are currently providing in this area.

The International dry-farming congress, containing: the official call of the seventh international session, and exposition, at Lethbridge, Alberta, October 19-26, 1912. The dry-farming congress--its history, its sims, its successes. The province of Alberta ... its resources, its development, its possibilities, and the agricultural and industrial districts of southern Alberta. Pub. by the Department of agriculture of the province of Alberta, and the Board of control, of the seventh International dry-farming congress.

Edited by Charles S. Hotchkiss.

Authorizing additional appropriations for the Department of State, the Board for International Broadcasting, and grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for fiscal years 1980 and 1981 : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Operations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, March 26 and April 16, 1980.

Mode of access: Internet.