This webpage considers some FAQ on the new International Standard on Assurance Engagements (UK) 3000 (July 2020): Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits Or Reviews Of Historical Financial Information published by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in July 2020.

What is the scope of the new UK standard?

ISAE (UK) 3000 is mandatory for public interest assurance engagements specified by the FRC. The FRC has not specified any such engagements to date, but anticipates that this may change in the future as a result of recent and future reviews into the scope of audit.

ISAE (UK) 3000 is voluntary for other assurance engagements unless the FRC has issued a subject matter specific assurance standard relevant to the engagement. The FRC has issued subject matter specific assurance standards for:

• audits of financial statements undertaken in compliance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (UK);
• reporting accountants acting in connection with an investment circular (the Standards for Investment Reporting – ‘SIRs’);
• reviews of interim financial information performed in accordance with the International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410; and
• engagements to provide assurance on client assets to the Financial Conduct Authority (the CASS Standard).

What’s the effective date of the new UK standard?

ISAE (UK) 3000 is effective for assurance reports dated on or after 15 September 2020.

What’s new about the UK standard compared to the international standard?

The FRC has adopted the text of ISAE 3000 (Revised) as issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) with the main changes being edits to reflect that:

1. the firm and its personnel are subject to ethical requirements from the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as well as sources such as the ICAEW Code of Ethics. The changes to the ethical requirements apply only to public interest assurance engagements specified by the FRC because the FRC considers an audit level of independence to be appropriate for such engagements. There are a number of additional matters addressed in the FRC’s Ethical Standard, such as:

• Financial interests held as trustee;
• Financial interests held by firm pension schemes;
• Management roles with an entity relevant to an engagement;
• Loan staff assignments;
• Partners and engagement team members joining and entity relevant to an engagement;
• Governance role with an entity relevant to an engagement;
• Employment with the firm;
• Long association of the firm with engagements and entities relevant to engagements; and
• Remuneration and evaluation policies.

2. a number of subject matter specific assurance standards also issued by IAASB have not been adopted by the FRC, but may be applied voluntarily. Where a subject matter specific assurance standard is applied to the subject matter of a particular engagement it is applied in addition to ISAE 3000 (Revised). In such cases, complying with the ISAE (UK) 3000 would achieve the need to comply with the international standard.

The subject matter specific assurance standards are:

• ISAE 3400 The Examination of Prospective Financial Information
• ISAE 3402 Assurance Reports on Controls at a Service Organization
• ISAE 3410 Assurance Engagements on Greenhouse Gas Statements
• ISAE 3420 Assurance Engagements to Report on the Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information Included in a Prospectus

Changes made by the FRC are highlighted using grey shading in the new standard.