Proposed Technology-related Revisions to the Code

Overview

Rapid technology changes have had an increasing impact on the everyday life of assurance practitioners.

IESBA proposes to enhance the Code of Ethics with Technology-related matters, including:

confidentiality imperatives of the digital age
ethical dimension of using or relying on the output of technology
identifying threats to compliance with fundamental principles arising from relying on the output of technology
strengthened and clarified International Independence Standards (IIS) with respect to technology-related non-assurance services (NAS) firms may provide to their audit clients or technology-related business relationships they may enter into with their audit clients.

Other proposed revisions to the Code of Ethics include:

importance of non-technical professional skills
considerations of complex circumstances when applying the Code’s conceptual framework
acknowledgement that the IIS that apply to assurance engagements are applicable to assurance engagements on non-financial information, for example, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures.

The XRB consultation period finished 9 May 2022, and no submissions were received.