Emma Kotch joined the IAASB in September 2026 as an Associate, Executive Assistant.

Emma comes from a background in education, where she worked in a variety of roles spanning teaching, academic advising, and school operations. Most recently, she worked at Phoenix Charter Academy in Chelsea, Massachusetts, supporting the school’s day-to-day operations, coordinating schedules and logistics, managing student and family communications, and collaborating across teams to keep school-wide initiatives running smoothly. Emma graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied Human Development and Family Studies and Psychology. Emma is based in our New York office.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released their 2025 Joint Annual Report, Building Trust Through Dialogue, Leadership, and Standards, highlighting a year of global engagement, strengthened collaboration, and continued commitment to advancing high-quality international standards in the public interest.

2025 Highlights

• 246 strategic meetings and other stakeholder engagements worldwide 
• 47 publications, including standards, consultations, handbooks, and implementation resources 
• 105 Board members, technical advisors, and volunteers from 27 jurisdictions 
• 83 translations of 40 publications into 35 languages 

Throughout 2025, both Boards focused on listening to stakeholders and responding to an evolving reporting environment. This included advancing work on technology and quality management, fraud and going concern, private equity investment in accounting firms, and firm culture and governance, alongside supporting implementation of recently issued standards, including those addressing sustainability assurance and ethics and independence for sustainability reporting and assurance. The Boards also expanded opportunities for global dialogue with stakeholders, including through the inaugural IESBA global conference, Ethics and Audit Independence, bringing together stakeholders to exchange perspectives on the issues shaping the future of the profession and international standard setting.

"For the IAASB, 2025 was a year of listening, learning, and preparing for the future," said Tom Seidenstein, IAASB Chair. "The perspectives we gained through our engagement with stakeholders around the world are helping ensure our standards remain practical, globally relevant, and responsive to an evolving reporting environment."

"2025 demonstrated that leadership is not measured only by issuing new standards, but also by supporting their implementation, anticipating emerging challenges, and engaging openly with stakeholders," said Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, IESBA Chair. "Those efforts continue to strengthen ethics, independence, and confidence in the global reporting ecosystem."

The report also highlights the continued evolution of collaboration between the IAASB and IESBA, including coordinated strategic planning, joint stakeholder engagement, coordinated implementation support, and technical collaboration. Together, these efforts help strengthen trust in financial and sustainability reporting and support high-quality global standards that serve the public interest.

"Building and maintaining trust requires more than high-quality standards—it requires collaboration and a shared commitment to serving the public interest," the Chairs said in a joint statement. "We greatly benefit from the insights offered by stakeholders as we shape our work priorities to ensure that our standards remain critical pillars of market trust and integrity."

The 2025 IAASB–IESBA Joint Annual Report is available on the IAASB website here.

About the IAASB and IESBA

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board develops auditing, assurance, related services, and quality management standards and guidance in the public interest that support consistent performance of quality engagements.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants serves the public interest by setting high-quality ethics and independence standards that strengthen trust in the reporting and assurance of financial and sustainability information, organizations, and capital markets. 

The IAASB and IESBA are part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit. The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) oversees IAASB and IESBA activities and the public interest responsiveness of their standards. For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please visit Permissions.

Throughout 2025, the IAASB and IESBA focused on listening to stakeholders and responding to an evolving reporting environment. This included advancing work on technology and quality management, fraud and going concern, private equity investment in accounting firms, and firm culture and governance, alongside supporting implementation of recently issued standards, including those addressing sustainability assurance and ethics and independence for sustainability reporting and assurance.

The IAASB is hosting a two-part webinar series, open to all interested stakeholders, to explore the proposals and provide opportunities to engage directly with IAASB experts.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is providing additional opportunities for stakeholders to engage with its proposed revisions to ISA 330, The Auditor's Responses to Assessed Risks; ISA 500, Audit Evidence; and ISA 520, Analytical Procedures, during the public consultation period.

A new User Consultation Survey provides a targeted way for users of financial statements to share their perspectives on selected aspects of the proposals, without needing to address the full range of matters covered by the consultation. The IAASB is also hosting a two-part webinar series, open to all interested stakeholders, to provide an overview of the proposals and opportunities to engage directly with IAASB experts.

The exposure drafts are open for public comment until December 15, 2026.

User Consultation Survey

The User Consultation Survey is designed specifically for users of financial statements, including investors, analysts, lenders and other creditors who rely on audited financial statements to make resource allocation decisions.

Recognizing that these stakeholders may have particular perspectives on certain aspects of an audit, rather than the full range of matters addressed in the exposure drafts, the survey provides a focused way for them to contribute to the consultation.

The IAASB is particularly interested in users’ views on four areas:

• Technology-Driven Enhancements
• Evaluating the Relevance and Reliability of Information Intended to Be Used as Audit Evidence
• Classes of Transactions, Account Balances and Disclosures that Are Material but Not Significant
• Threshold for Evaluating Differences from Auditor’s Expectations When Designing and Performing Substantive Analytical Procedures

The IAASB encourages all stakeholders to share the User Consultation Survey broadly with users of financial statements across their organizations, jurisdictions, and professional networks to help ensure the IAASB hears a broad range of user perspectives.

The survey is open until December 15, 2026, in line with the public consultation deadline.

Global Webinar Series 

The IAASB will also host a two-part global webinar series open to all interested stakeholders. The webinars are designed to help participants understand the proposed revisions, whether they are preparing a formal response, considering feedback on particular aspects of the proposals, or simply seeking to learn more. 

Participants will hear directly from IAASB experts about key aspects of the proposals and have an opportunity to ask questions during Q&A sessions. Each webinar will be offered twice to accommodate participants across different time zones.

Webinar #1: Overview of AE&RR Proposals and Reference Framework – Proposed ISA 500 (Revised)

• September 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. UTC
• September 30, 2026, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. UTC

Webinar #2: Performance Aspects of the AE&RR Proposals – Proposed ISA 330 (Revised) and Proposed ISA 520 (Revised)

• October 5, 2026, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. UTC
• October 7, 2026, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. UTC

The webinars will be held on Zoom and livestreamed on YouTube. Registration will open soon.

About the IAASB
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board develops auditing, assurance, related services, and quality management standards and guidance in the public interest that support consistent performance of quality engagements. Along with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, the IAASB is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit. The Public Interest Oversight Board oversees IAASB and IESBA activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards. For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please visit Permissions.