AUASB Consultation on Proposed IAASB Standard on Auditing ISA 500 (Revised) Audit Evidence

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

The AUASB has released a Consultation Paper seeking public comment on the IAASB’s Exposure Draft on International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 500, Audit Evidence. The current ISA 500 addresses an auditor’s responsibility to design and perform audit procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to draw reasonable conclusions on which to base the auditor’s opinion.

In addition to the invitation to comment on the Paper, the AUASB will soon release an educative Webinar about the key themes and changes that the Proposed ISA 500 (Revised) Audit Evidence seeks to address. This will be accessible via the AUASB website.

The proposed standard provides a reference framework for auditors when making judgements about audit evidence throughout the audit.

The proposed changes:

Clarify ISA 500’s purpose and scope and explain its relationship with other standards;
Provide a principles-based approach to considering and making judgments about information intended to be used as audit evidence and evaluating whether sufficient appropriate audit evidence has been obtained;
Modernise ISA 500 to be adaptable to the current business and audit environment, while considering scalability for different circumstances, including the entity and the auditor’s use of technology, such as automated tools and techniques; and
Emphasise the role of professional scepticism when making judgments about information intended to be used as audit evidence and evaluating the audit evidence obtained.

AUASB Consultation

The AUASB invites all stakeholders to comment on all or some of the questions contained in the AUASB Consultation Paper by 31 March 2023 via the AUASB website. Stakeholders may elect to provide comments directly to the IAASB. In this case, the AUASB request a copy is provided to us.

The AUASB will be holding roundtable events in late February and early March 2023, to provide stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback directly. Details for registration at these events will be provided in the new year.

Stakeholders’ feedback will be used to inform the AUASB in its formal response to the IAASB on the IAASB Exposure Draft.

Any queries about the Consultation Paper and the AUASB’s associated outreach activities should be directed to Marina Michaelides, AUASB Senior Manager, at [email protected].