Introduction to the revised ISSAI 140 – Quality management for SAIs
In December 2020, the IAASB issued a new suite of quality management standards (ISQM 1 and ISQM 2) replacing the previous ISQC 1 and revised its ISA 220 standard (quality management of an audit of financial statements). The changes emphasise that the auditor’s objective is about managing quality and associated procedures in a risk-based and dynamic way in order to achieve the required level of quality, rather than implementing a static set of quality control procedures. INTOSAI revised its own standard on quality control accordingly.
The new standard 140 has been built around 7 requirements:
- establishing the system of quality management
- establishing quality objectives
- identifying and assessing quality risks
- designing and implementing responses
- establishing a monitoring and remediation process
- evaluating and concluding on the effectiveness of the system of quality management
- documenting the system of quality management
Overall, SAIs are free to design, implement and operate a system of quality management taking into account their changing nature and circumstances. SAIs will manage their system of quality management in a dynamic way, by adapting it to changes in the nature and circumstances of the SAI and its engagements.
The new ISSAI 140 is applicable from 1 January 2025, when it will be moved into the framework and replace the current version of ISSAI 140.
The following versions are now available to readers: