We also extend our sincere gratitude to Linda de Beer for her dedicated leadership of the PIOB over the past five years. Her tenure coincided with a period of profound change, during which she oversaw the careful implementation of the Monitoring Group’s 2020 Recommendations and guided the PIOB’s oversight through a time of significant global challenge and transformation.
The IAASB and IESBA share with the PIOB a commitment to enhancing trust and confidence in the audit and accountancy profession and the information it provides to stakeholders worldwide. Under Ms. Modise’s leadership, we are confident that our close collaboration with the PIOB will continue to strengthen the international standard-setting system and deliver standards that serve the global public interest.
Gabriela Figueiredo Dias Chair, International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)
Co-CEO, International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (IFEA)
Tom Seidenstein Chair, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)
Co-CEO, International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (IFEA)
The IAASB Handbook comprises the following five volumes:
Volume 1: International Auditing Practice Notes (IAPNs), International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), and International Standards on Quality Management (ISQMs)
Volume 2: International Standard on Auditing for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities (the ISA for LCE)
Volume 3: International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
Volume 4: International Standards on Assurance Engagements (ISAEs), International Standards on Review Engagements (ISREs), and International Standards on Related Services (ISRSs)
Volume 5: A Framework for Audit Quality: Key Elements that Create an Environment for Audit Quality and the International Framework for Assurance Engagements
The following standards, which are not yet effective, are included in the 2025 Handbook:
The 2025 Handbook is available as a PDF download; print copies can be ordered via the IAASB website.
Reproducing and Translating the IAASB Handbook To help adoption and implementation of the IAASB standards, stakeholders are invited to request permission to reproduce or translate the IAASB handbook via the Online Permissions Requests or Inquiries system on the IFAC website.
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released narrow scope amendments to its standards revising the definition of listed entity to align with the definition in the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ (IESBA) Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). The new definition will amend the International Standards on Quality Management and International Standards on Auditing. In addition, amendments to International Standard on Review Engagement 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements, aim to align with the IESBA Code of Ethics regarding certain public disclosures about the application of independence requirements.
The narrow scope amendments:
Adopt the same definition of publicly traded entity (PTE) in the ISQMs and ISAs as adopted in the IESBA Code of Ethics, while recognizing the role local standard setters and regulators play in defining PTEs for their jurisdictions.
Incorporate an overarching objective for differential requirements for PTEs in the ISQMs and ISAs and a framework for when it may be appropriate to apply such requirements to other entities.
Amend the applicability of the existing requirements for audits of listed entities to apply to audits of PTEs.
Add a new requirement in ISRE 2400 (Revised) for public disclosure in the practitioner’s review report when the practitioner applied independence requirements specific to reviews of financial statements of certain entities, e.g., for public interest entities.
Throughout the development of these amendments, the IAASB maintained close collaboration and coordination with IESBA, striving to align key concepts in the IAASB’s and IESBA’s standards, to the greatest extent possible.
To assist its stakeholder understanding and implementing the narrow scope amendments, the IAASB has published a Basis for Conclusions, available on its website here.
Effective Date and Resources The narrow scope amendments become effective for engagements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2026. This effective date is aligned with the effective dates for the IAASB’s recently revised standards on going concern and fraud, ISA 570 (Revised 2024) and ISA 240 (Revised), respectively. Together, these standards provide a stronger, more coordinated response to the risks of fraud and financial distress.
