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Future of assurance

ICAEW has brought together investors and assurance experts to discuss this fast-developing field and created The Assurance Panel (TAP). The panel works to share emerging best practice, develop innovative thinking and look ahead to where the assurance market is going next.

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Our aim is to:

  • Find out where new services could strengthen markets and support economic confidence by making information flows more credible.
  • Ask how the International Framework for Assurance Engagements can be applied and developed.
  • Answer demands for practical guidance to meet emerging market needs.

We do this by:

  • Convening debates on the developing market, engaging with stakeholders and thinking about the future of assurance;
  • supporting other bodies such as the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) with their work on non-audit assurance;
  • providing technical releases for reference in regards to specific engagements, and application guidance that addresses all kinds of assurance engagements; and
  • addressing the confusion in the market that can lead to false assurance, both by cutting through the jargon and by promoting clarity reporting.

Assurance over emerging forms of external reporting

Assurance over emerging forms of external reporting (EER) is growing in interest and attention, and an IAASB project is underway. To stimulate and influence the debate, the Audit and Assurance Faculty brings together a series of articles on key issues relating to EER assurance.
The expectation gap in assurance
  • Article
  • 18 Jul 2018
One of the key challenges facing assurance providers is understanding and tackling the expectation gap in assurance. This infographic summarises some of the considerations.
The need for principles based assurance guidance
  • Article
  • 09 Jul 2018
In this article in the series on assurance over emerging forms of external reporting (EER), John Ward, Chair of the Audit and Assurance Innovation Panel and an assurance practitioner with 30 years of experience and expertise performing assurance engagements, addresses the need for principles based assurance guidance.
The respective responsibilities of preparers and assurers
  • Article
  • 23 Aug 2018
In this article in the series on assurance over emerging forms of external reporting (EER), John Ward explores the respective responsibilities of preparers and assurers in using established and bespoke reporting frameworks.
A rational purpose for assurance engagements
  • Article
  • 23 Aug 2018
In this article in the series on assurance over emerging forms of external reporting (EER), John Ward explores the meaning of a rational purpose for assurance engagements.
Audit & Beyond archive
  • Hub page
  • 10 Jun 2020
Providing valuable content, best practice and topical issues within the profession.

The journey: assuring all of the annual report?

Businesses, investors, accountants and regulators are all on a journey to find the right assurance over the right information in the financial statements, the rest of the annual report, and beyond.
The journey: assuring all of the annual report?
  • Listing
  • 19 Mar 2018
Businesses, investors, accountants and regulators are all on a journey to find the right assurance over the right information in the financial statements, the rest of the annual report, and beyond.
The journey milestone 5: Where next with assurance?
  • ICAEW consultation and response
  • 26 Mar 2018
In 2016 ICAEW’s Audit and Assurance Faculty ran a consultation to ask different stakeholders in the market what they considered to be the next step. The response encouraged us to move away from thinking about external assurance in isolation, and towards an understanding of how organisations can get the right assurance in the right place.
The journey milestone 4: Materiality in assuring narrative reporting
  • Report
  • 31 Jan 2016
  • PDF (441kb)
Applying materiality is as fundamental to an assurance engagement as it is to an audit. But this is more difficult where the information being reviewed is qualitative. Our report suggests how materiality might be applied in assurance. In particular auditors might consider how bias, misstatement and misrepresentation might affect qualitative information. Ultimately, understanding what users need from the information is crucial to appreciating what is material.
The journey milestone 3: Assuring the appropriateness of business information
  • Article
  • 30 Nov 2015
  • PDF (430kb)
This paper uses the example of KPIs to explore the ways in which practitioners can be sure they are providing assurance over the right disclosures.
The journey milestone 2: assurance over risk disclosures
  • Article
  • 05 Feb 2015
  • PDF (606kb)
This paper is the second Milestone in the series following The Journey: Assuring all of the Annual Report.
The journey milestone 1: assurance over key performance indicators
  • Article
  • 30 Nov 2015
  • PDF (498kb)
Whether it’s a miner discussing extraction rates, a retailer talking about footfall, or a food producer quoting yield per hectare, a well-chosen KPI sheds light on the inner workings of a business. This new report in The Journey sequence explores how assurance engagements can be and are being used to build confidence in these important disclosures.

Case studies

Innovating in human rights assurance
Mazars LLP provides insight into how it approaches due diligence for human rights reporting, discussing its work with India-based steel manufacturer Jindal Stainless Ltd
KPMG assures KPIs for Channel 4
Insights from KPMG on its work with the Channel 4 Television Corporation to provide limited independent assurance on the TV company's Statement of Media Content Policy.
Making the transition to assurance
Following audit threshold changes Reeves & Co has worked with BSL Gas Technologies Ltd, as it transitioned from statutory audit to independent assurance report.
Independently assured financial statements
When door hardware distributor Relcross was no longer subject to statutory audit it approached James Cowper LLP to independently assure its financial statements.
Get involved

We are looking to highlight good practice examples of assurance engagements, to bring the subject to life and to add colour and interest to support our work. Have you had an interesting client, or been asked to consider an unusual situation? Was there one engagement that epitomised the flexibility and opportunities of assurance for you? Get in touch today!

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