Your Content Goes Here Implementation of IFRS 19 The introduction of IFRS 19: Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures represents a notable step towards reducing the financial reporting burden for many private companies. Its primary benefit is the creation of a tailored, standalone, voluntary disclosure standard for eligible subsidiaries (as defined in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements), which are entities that are not publicly accountable and whose parent company prepares consolidated financial statements compliant with IFRS, available for public use. By providing a prescribed, simplified set of disclosures, IFRS 19 eliminates the complexity, time and cost involved of having to wade through the [...]

Your Content Goes Here 1. Risk scoping Many auditors are still grappling with applying the principles of ISA 315 (Revised 2019) when performing risk assessment and audit scoping. The standard requires the auditor to identify relevant assertions based on risks identified. An assertion is regarded as relevant where there is a reasonable possibility of a material misstatement. Assertions that have no risks attached to them may be scoped out for audit testing, provided that the auditor documents adequate reasons, in support of the risk assessment. For material balances with no relevant assertions, i.e. no identified risks linked to the assertions, [...]

Audit Issues & Trends Your Content Goes Here Audit issues and trends to consider: 1. Regulated industries It is often required in regulated industries that the regulator approve the auditor to perform audits within the industry. It is critical that the auditor obtain the approval from the regulator, prior to performing any audit work for audit clients in the industry; otherwise, the auditor may not be able to recover time spent on the work. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is very strict regarding this approval for the financial services industry, including insurers and retirement funds. If the [...]

Audit Issues & Trends Your Content Goes Here Audit issues and trends to consider: Corroborating evidence for client discussions Enquiry is an audit procedure used extensively throughout the audit, in addition to other audit procedures. Evaluating responses to enquiries is an important part of the enquiry process. Responses to enquiries may provide new information or corroborative audit evidence, or information that differs significantly from other information already obtained, for example, information regarding the possibility of management override of controls. In some cases, responses provide a basis for the auditor to modify, or perform additional audit procedures. Auditors often [...]

Audit Issues & Trends Your Content Goes Here Audit issues and trends to consider: Going concern South Africa’s persistent economic challenges, including load shedding, high unemployment, inflationary pressures, political uncertainty, and constrained fiscal and monetary policy flexibility have created a complex operating environment for South African businesses. Economic instability magnifies going-concern risks such as liquidity shortages, covenant breaches, reduced access to new capital, and declining consumer demand. Management may rely on over-optimistic forecasts or unsecured funding plans to mitigate these risks, necessitating thorough audit scrutiny. From an audit perspective, these conditions heighten the risk of material uncertainties, which [...]

Audit Issues & Trends Your Content Goes Here Audit issues and trends to consider: Reliance on expert reports Audit client management often employs experts to assist with determining values for complex estimates or matters falling outside the expertise of management, e.g. valuations, IFRS review. It is often found that auditors place undue reliance on work performed and reports produced by such experts, without verifying the methods applied and assumptions made by the experts. The results of their work are also not checked carefully when amended, e.g. IFRS reviews on amended draft financial statements. If information to be used [...]