The IAASB has introduced a new Technology Position that will guide how it adapts its work to embrace the intersection of audit, assurance, and technology. This new position marks a significant step forward in the IAASB’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality and relevance of its standards in the face of rapid technological advancement.
The Position is structured around three key components.
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The Technology Position Statement: Articulating eight key actions to deliver on commitment to facilitate the use of technology by firms and practitioners when appropriate to enhance the quality of their audit and assurance engagements.
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Action: Detailing the strategy to action the Technology Position by identifying opportunities for new or revised standards, along with developing non-authoritative materials and guidance. This involves undertaking gap analyses on an on-going basis, which has been published as the Catalog of Issues and Possible Actions (see below for details).
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Monitor and Adapt to Technological Trends: Specifying plans to continually monitor emerging technologies to ensure standards evolve with the rapidly changing landscape and update the Technology Position as needed to remain aligned.
This Technology Position ensures the IAASB remains at the forefront of technological advancements, safeguarding the quality and consistency of audit and assurance practices globally.
The IAASB has also developed various guidance, non-authoritative materials, and newsletters to provide assistance to practitioners.
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Catalog of Issues and Possible Actions
The Technology Position includes conducting ongoing gap analyses to ensure current standards align with technological advancements. The results of this gap analysis is available in the Catalog of Issues and Possible Actions.
The Catalog is a living document that serves as the IAASB’s cross-functional repository for technology-related issues, informed by diverse sources, including stakeholder feedback and outreach activities. It will be updated at least semi-annually, or more frequently as needed.
The Catalog enables the IAASB to take a holistic view, beyond individual projects, when assessing the feasibility and merits of possible actions at both the work plan and project levels. It does this through two key means:
- Work plan decisions: Helping inform the prioritization of workstreams or projects in the IAASB’s current and future work plans.
- Workstream- or project-level actions: Outlining insights and possible actions. IAASB will also explore possible actions as part of information-gathering and outreach.
The May 2025 version of the Catalog is structured around eight key themes and includes a prioritization of possible actions for each identified issue. Future versions of the Catalog will be published on this web page.
Feedback Mechanism
The Technology Position also calls for the creation of a feedback process, allowing stakeholders to share their feedback on the Catalog, including if any important aspects have been overlooked.
Submission Process
Feedback will be collected electronically and kept private. While submissions will not be attributed to individuals, they may be referenced in IAASB public materials. Please avoid including confidential information.Consideration of Feedback
All feedback will be reviewed. While the IAASB will not respond to individual submissions, input will be considered collectively in setting priorities and determining the urgency and type of responses. -
Non-Authoritative Guidance
What are Automated Tools and Techniques?
Automated tools and techniques is a broad term describing the tools and techniques used by auditors in performing audit procedures. The term is deliberately broad because technologies and related audit applications will continue to evolve, such as artificial intelligence applications, robotics automation processes and others. -
Digital Technology Market Scans