IES 8 Project

IES 8, Professional Competence for Engagement Partners Responsible for Audits of Financial Statements prescribes the professional competence that professional accounting performing the role of an audit engagement partner must develop and maintain. Professional competence is demonstrated through the achievement of learning outcomes, including, but not limited to, those prescribed in IES 8. IES 8 also provides explanatory materials to provide guidance on how professional competence interacts with Continuing Professional Development and international standards on quality management.

Two recent developments are the impetus for a standards development project, which will consider whether revisions to IES 8 may potentially be required. These developments are:

• IES 2, 3, and 4 (Revised): The professional competence requirements for aspiring professional accountants will be changing from July 1, 2026 to embed sustainability-related concepts in the learning outcomes of these standards. The changes need to be evaluated in the context of professional competence for audit engagement partners.
• Updates to international quality management standards: As part of the revisions to IES 6, limited conforming amendments were made to IES 8 to remove out-of-date references to International Standard on Quality Control 1 and International Standard on Auditing 220 (ISA 220) and update references instead to the new suite of international quality management standards (International Standard on Quality Management 1 and 2, and ISA 220 (Revised)). The Panel concluded that further evaluation and analysis of IES 8 would be performed after the issuance of IES 2, 3, and 4 (Revised).

The Panel established an IES 8 Working Group to begin initial project identification and stakeholder engagement. Initial views gathered from the IFAC Accountancy Education Directors Forum in September 2024 and February 2025 indicated that development of a project proposal and further information gathering was needed as a next step.

Project Timeline

Working Group Members

• Manil Jayesinghe (Working Group Chair)
• Anne-Marie Vitale (Panel Chair)
• Jennifer Eberman
• Nadine Kater (supported by technical assistant, Sipho Khumalo)
• Jan Taylor
• Adriana Tiron Tudor
• Michelle Cardwell (IFAC Staff)