ASRS 400 Guidance

The AUASB has released:

Amending Standard ASA 2013-3, comprising minor amendments to the Auditing Standards relating to typographical errors and other editorial corrections, along with the relevant compiled standards, and
Amended Standard on Related Services, ASRE 4400 Agreed upon Procedures Engagements to Report Factual Findings. The amendments to ASRS 4400 remove the limitations on distribution of a report of factual findings for an agreed-upon procedures engagement.
The standards apply from 1 July 2013.

Auditing Standard ASA 2013 3 Amendments to Australian Auditing Standards

This standard makes amendments to eight Auditing Standards in relation to identified errors that are inadvertent, editorial in nature and do not affect the auditor’s work effort or change the meaning of a requirement. The changes are made to maintain the quality of the presentation of the standards.

The amendments to ASRS 4400 Agreed upon Procedures Engagements to Report Factual Findings remove the limitations on distribution of a report of factual findings for an agreed-upon procedures engagement and retain, and in some cases replace that restriction with, a restriction only on the use of that report.

The purpose of the amendments is not to prevent distribution of a report per se, but to deter use of that report by those other than the intended users which are identified in the terms of engagement. Reliance on that report is then effectively restricted to the intended users identified, even if the report is distributed to other parties.

In order to ensure consistency with the restrictions on “use” of a report of factual findings, which limit that use to “identified users”, consequential amendments have also been made. These amendments replace the terms “specified parties”, “other specified parties”, “additional parties”, “parties” and “parties involved” with “intended users” and replace the reference to receipt of the report of factual findings with “use” of the report by those intended users.