International Standards on Auditing (ISA) are professional standards for the performance of financial audit

Financial audit

A financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the verification of the financial statements of a legal entity, with a view to express an audit opinion...

 of financial information. These standards are issued by International Federation of Accountants

International Federation of Accountants

International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 164 member and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and academe...

 (IFAC) through the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board

International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board is the independent standard setting body which issue auditing, review, other assurance related services and quality control standards to be applied by the global auditing profession...

 (IAASB).

Respective responsibilities

Moral responsibility

Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...

• ISA 200 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 210 Terms of Audit Engagements
• ISA 220 Quality Control for Audits of Historical Financial Information
• ISA 230 Documentation
  ISA 230 Documentation
  ISA 230 Documentation is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to direct the documentation of audit working papers in order to assist the audit planning and performance; the supervision and review of the audit work; and the recording of audit evidence resulting from the audit...
  
  
• ISA 240 The Auditor's Responsibility to Consider Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 250 Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 260 Communication of Audit Matters with Those Charged with Governance

Audit planning

• ISA 300 Planning an Audit of Financial Statements
• ISA 310 Knowledge of the Business
  ISA 310 Knowledge of the Business
  ISA 310 Knowledge of the Business is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to expect the auditors are to have necessary knowledge of the client's business...
  
  
• ISA 315 Understanding the Entity and its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement
• ISA 320 Audit Materiality
  ISA 320 Audit Materiality
  ISA 320 Audit Materiality is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to expect the auditor is to establish an acceptable materiality level in design the audit plan....
  
  
• ISA 330 The Auditor's Procedures in Response to Assessed Risks

Internal Control

Internal control

In accounting and auditing, internal control is defined as a process effected by an organization's structure, work and authority flows, people and management information systems, designed to help the organization accomplish specific goals or objectives. It is a means by which an organization's...

• ISA 400 Risk Assessments and Internal Control
  ISA 400 Risk Assessments and Internal Control
  ISA 400 Risk Assessments and Internal Control is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to require the auditor is to understand the client's accounting system and internal control system and to assess control risk and inherent risk...
  
  
• ISA 401 Auditing in a Computer Information Systems Environment (withdrawn, superseded by ISA 315, ISA 330 and ISA 402)
• ISA 402 Audit Considerations Relating to Entities Using Service Organisations

Audit evidence

Audit evidence

Audit evidence is evidence obtained during a financial audit and recorded in the audit working papers.* In the audit engagement acceptance or reappointment stage, audit evidence is the information that the auditor is to consider for the appointment...

• ISA 500 Audit Evidence
  ISA 500 Audit Evidence
  Editing ISA 500 Audit Evidence is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to expect the auditor is to obtain audit evidence from an appropriate mix of tests of control systems and substantive tests of transaction and balances....
  
  
• ISA 501 Audit Evidence - Additional Considerations for Specific Items
  ISA 501 Audit Evidence - Additional Considerations for Specific Items
  ISA 501 Audit Evidence - Additional Considerations for Specific Items is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It sets out guidance additional to the ones in ISA 500 Audit Evidence to help auditor to obtain audit evidence with respect to the below certain specific financial statement...
  
  
• ISA 505 External Confirmations
  ISA 505 External Confirmations
  ISA 505 External Confirmations is one of the International Standards on Auditing. Its primary aim is to require the auditor to obtain external sources of audit evidence rather than only relying on internally provided documents...
  
  
• ISA 510 Initial Engagements - Opening Balances
• ISA 520 Analytical Procedures
• ISA 530 Audit Sampling and Other Means of Testing
• ISA 540 Audit of Accounting Estimates
• ISA 545 Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures
• ISA 550 Related Parties
• ISA 560 Subsequent Events
• ISA 570 Going Concern
• ISA 580 Management Representations

Using work of other experts

• ISA 600 Using the Work of Another Auditor
• ISA 610 Considering the Work of Internal Auditing
• ISA 620 Using the Work of an Expert

Audit conclusions and Audit report

• ISA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements
• ISA 705 Modifications to the Opinion in the Independent Auditor's Report
• ISA 706 Emphasis of Matter Paragraph and Other Matter Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor's Report
• ISA 710 Comparatives
• ISA 720 Other Information in Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements

Specialized areas

• ISA 800 The Auditor's Report on Special Purpose Audit Engagements
• ISA 810 The Examination of Prospective Financial Information

Use of the ISAs

• European Union: The Audit Directive of 17 May 2006 enforces the use of the International Standards on Auditing for all Statutory audit to be performed in the European Union
  European Union
  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
  
  .

The Audit Directive of 17 May 2006 is important in order to ensure a high quality for all statutory audits required by Community law requiring all statutory audits be carried out on the basis of all international auditing standards. The Directive has given implementing powers to the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, in order to adopt “en bloc” the ISAs in accordance with the Council Decision of 28 June 1999, also known as the “Comitology Decision”.

• European Court of Auditors: the European Court of Auditors
  European Court of Auditors
  The Court of Auditors is the fifth institution of the European Union . It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg to audit the accounts of EU institutions...
  
   performs its audits in accordance with the IFAC and INTOSAI International Auditing Standards and Codes of Ethics, in so far as these are applicable in the European Community context.
• The United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   Board of Auditors (the external audit of the UN) has adopted the ISAs although this Board is composed of three Supreme Audit Institutions chairmen, usually using the INTOSAI Auditing Standards.

See also

• External audit standards
  • Hong Kong Standards on Auditing
  • International Public Sector Accounting Standards
    International Public Sector Accounting Standards
    International Public Sector Accounting Standards are a set of accounting standards issued by the IPSAS Board for use by public sector entities around the world in the preparation of financial statements...
    
    , of the IPSASB standard-setting board of the IFAC
    IFAC
    IFAC may refer to:* International Fine Arts College* International Federation of Accountants* International Federation of Automatic Control* Irvine Fine Arts Center* Irish Farm Accounts Cooperative...
    
    .
  • The INTOSAI Auditing Standards or ISSAI of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
    International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
    The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions is a worldwide affiliation of governmental entities. Its members are the Chief Financial Controller/Comptroller General Offices of nations.INTOSAI was founded in 1953 in Havana, Cuba...
    
    , which are public sector
    Public sector
    The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
    
     external audit
    Audit
    The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...
    
     standards.
  • Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
    Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
    Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, or GAAS are sets of standards against which the quality of audits are performed and may be judged...
    
    
  • Engagement Letter
    Engagement Letter
    An engagement letter defines the legal relationship between a professional firm and its client...
    
    

• Other standards
  • International Financial Reporting Standards
    International Financial Reporting Standards
    International Financial Reporting Standards are principles-based standards, interpretations and the framework adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ....
    
    
  • Internal Audit
    Internal audit
    Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk...
    
     standards, cf. Institute of Internal Auditors
    Institute of Internal Auditors
    Established in 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors is a guidance-setting body. Serving members in 165 countries, The IIA is the internal audit profession's global voice, chief advocate, recognized authority, and principal educator, with global headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Fla., United...
    
    

External links

• IFAC Represents 2 500 000 accountants in 120 countries
• List of the Standards (ISAs) List of the Standards (ISAs) @ifac.org
• http://www.INTOSAI.org Institution for public sector
  Public sector
  The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
  
   audit standards
• http://www.accountancyforbusiness.co.uk/isa_standards_summary.html