AICPA Auditing Standards Board 2020 Plan Focuses on Technology and Public Interest

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board (ASB) has proposed a 2020 strategic plan that will guide the board’s work over the next three years. The plan addresses the current global economic environment, and the way entities conduct their business and activities, while also considering the views of all stakeholders including preparers, users and auditors.

Proposed Strategy and Work Plan, developed by the ASB Strategy Task Force, reflects the Board’s commitment to serve the public interest by updating and communicating comprehensive standards and guidance that enable practitioners to effectively and efficiently provide high-quality, objective audit and attestation services to non-issuers. The ASB’s focus on quality and its ability to be nimble and react to emerging developments are key to its success.

“We are looking forward to the feedback from our various stakeholders on the proposed strategy and work plan,” said Mike Santay, CPA, ASB Chair. “The ASB has recently completed several key projects — including standards on auditor reporting, going concern and benefit plan auditing — that have generated strong engagement from stakeholders. We are looking forward to commenter views on how we can best address the evolving role of the accounting profession and continue our mission of setting high quality audit standards that meet the public interest.”

The proposed plan outlines five strategic initiatives:

• Initiative A: Develop high-quality standards in the public interest The ASB remains committed to its strategic objective of converging its standards with those of the IAASB, while minimizing differences with the standards of the PCAOB.
• Initiative B: Enhance communications with our stakeholders Input and feedback from our stakeholders are critical to the ASB’s processes for setting its agenda and in developing high-quality standards and guidance.
• Initiative C: Think and operate more strategically Innovatively using our resources in the most efficient and effective ways while focusing on achieving the ASB’s mission will provide opportunities to improve the “time to market” for new or revised standards and guidance.
• Initiative D: Keep our standards relevant in a changing environment The increasing use of new and innovative technologies by companies, and by practitioners in performing engagements, has increased the need for the ASB to monitor the development and use of such technologies and consider whether our standards remain “fit for purpose” in supporting their use.
• Initiative E: Support the effective implementation and application of our standards Helping practitioners better understand and consistently apply our professional standards will help foster quality in the performance of audit and attestation engagements.

“There is no doubt that setting audit standards that meet the public interest has become increasingly complex over the recent past given the pace of change in both the way that business is conducted and the evolution of technology,” said Bob Dohrer, CPA, CGMA, AICPA Chief Auditor. “We look forward with great anticipation to hearing from stakeholders about whether our proposed strategic actions will be viewed as effective in meeting these challenges.”

The AICPA is seeking feedback on the strategic initiatives discussed in the consultation paper and would like to hear from those with practical experience in audit and attest engagements, including preparers of subject matter presentations, practitioners performing examinations or reviews on such presentations, investors and other users of such subject matter information, and regulators.

Interested parties are encouraged to submit their feedback to Sherry Hazel at CommentLetters@aicpa-cima.com by January 31, 2020.