IRBA Newsletter Issue 48

Issue 48 | October - December 2019 4 STANDARDS THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS ISSUE: • Standards: o Proposed Guide for Registered Auditors: Joint Audit Engagements. o Proposed Guide for Registered Auditors: Engagements on Legal Practitioners’ Trust Accounts (Revised November 2019). o IRBA Staff Audit Practice Alert 3: The Audit Implications of International Financial Reporting Standard 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. o The IRBA Aligns South African Auditing Pronouncements with the IRBA Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Auditors (Revised November 2018). o Revised Illustrative Banks Act Regulatory Auditor’s Reports. o Performance of Engagements and Preparation of Reports that Do Not Comply with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s Standards and IRBA Pronouncements. o Reminder: IRBA Seeks Feedback on Implementing SAAEPS 1. o The IAASB Issues an Exposure Draft on Conforming Amendments to the IAASB’s International Standards as a Result of the Revised IESBA Code. o IAASB Projects in Progress. o Recent Amendments to the JSE Listings Requirements. o Zimbabwean Public Accountants and Auditors Board Pronouncement 01/2019 on the Application of International Accounting Standard 29, Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies. • Ethics: o Use of the Registered Auditor Designation. o IESBA Projects in Progress. COMMITTEE FOR AUDITING STANDARDS (CFAS) Proposed Guide for Registered Auditors: Joint Audit Engagements The CFAS approved the release of the Proposed Guide for Registered Auditors: Joint Audit Engagements (this proposed Guide) in November 2019 for a 90-day exposure period for public comment. This proposed Guide provides guidance to registered auditors (auditors) on the application of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and IRBA pronouncements in the circumstances in which auditors or firms perform a joint audit engagement. The guidance contained in this proposed Guide does not establish new requirements or contain exemptions from the requirements of the ISAs. As such, it should be read in conjunction with the ISAs, as applicable. The auditor exercises professional judgement to determine the extent to which any of the guidance provided in this proposed Guide may be appropriate, in light of the requirements of the ISAs and the particular circumstances of the joint audit engagement. This proposed Guide is authoritative and includes: • Descriptions and/or definitions to appropriately describe the features of a joint audit engagement; • Roles and responsibilities of the joint auditors, individually and together (including addressing the risk of fronting); • Independence and other relevant ethical requirements; • A quality control system; • Acceptance and continuance of audit client relationships and engagements; • Joint auditors’ agreements; • The role of an engagement quality control reviewer in a joint audit engagement; • An audit plan and strategy; • A new joint audit engagement; • Consultations on technical, independence/ethical or other matters; • Access to the working papers of a joint auditor; • The cross-review of the work performed by the other joint auditor and documentation of the cross-review; • Communication; • The role of joint auditors in reporting a reportable irregularity in terms of the Auditing Profession Act, 2005; • The joint auditor’s report and the resolution of differences of opinion between joint auditors; • Concluding in a joint audit engagement; • Documentation; • Archiving of the audit file; and • Considerations of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation on joint audit engagements. Proposed Effective Date Depending on the comments received, it is anticipated that the final Guide will be approved by the CFAS in June 2020. Following that, it will then be issued in that same month, with such approval and issue being noted at the subsequent meeting of the IRBA Board. It is expected that the final Guide will be effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 31 December 2020. Request for Comments The CFAS welcomes comments on all matters addressed in this proposed Guide and seeks responses to four specific questions that are set out in the Explanatory Memorandum section. We invite auditors and other interested parties to submit any