On behalf of the IAASB, Happy New Year to all. The IAASB closed out a productive 2024 by approving ISA 570 (Revised), Going Concern closely following the September 2024 approval of ISSA 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. It is natural for our stakeholders to want to know what the IAASB plans to do in 2025. Our strategy document, Elevating Trust in Audit and Assurance, provides clear guidance.

For 2025, from a standard-setting standpoint, we are translating the strategy into three leading tasks:

1. Finish what we have started.
2. Give the market time and support to ensure high-quality implementation.
3. Increase our focus on technology to enhance audit and assurance quality.

Finish what we have started. By the end of the first half of 2025, the IAASB will complete its projects on Fraud and the second phase of our IESBA convergence work on Listed and Public Interest Entities. The IAASB intends to approve revisions to the Fraud standard in March and will undertake a consultation and outreach on Listed and Public Entities in Q1 to permit June 2025 approval. With the finalization of these projects, an important phase of our 2024-2027 work plan ends.

Give the market time and support to ensure high-quality implementation. In recent years, IAASB major initiatives included ISA 315 (Revised 2019), the quality management suite of standards (ISQMs 1 and 2, and ISA 220 (Revised), group audits (ISA 600 (Revised), the ISA for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities, ISSA 5000, and going concern (ISA 570 (Revised 2024). With the addition of the standards we anticipate finalizing in the first half of 2025, our focus will turn to supporting implementation of these standards, allowing time for their effective adoption, and beginning to assess their effectiveness through post-implementation reviews. For example, jointly with IESBA, we will be launching comprehensive implementation support plans for our sustainability standards at the end of January.

Increase our focus on technology to enhance audit and assurance quality. As our work plan transitions, there will necessarily be a period of calm in terms of new standards coming into effect.  However, we will not slow our work on key public interest topics. In September, the IAASB approved a new Technology Position and “committed to actively facilitating and, where appropriate, encouraging the appropriate use of technology.” While technology is not the sole driver, a dedicated focus on technology will be a priority over the next three years. Our recent project proposal to revise our Audit Evidence and Risk Response standards, scheduled to be completed in early 2027, highlights this commitment. We will be updating our project timelines shortly to reflect the technology priority.

The IAASB has emphasized the value of stakeholder engagement and has deepened outreach over recent years. As we pursue the three actions above, expect this level of outreach to continue.

Xiaoyue Sun became a member of the IAASB in January 2025. She was nominated by the Transnational Auditors Committee.

Ms. Sun is currently a partner and Head of Audit Technical Group of BDO China. She is a member of BDO's Audit Leadership Committee and Audit Quality Committee. She has 29 years' experience as an audit practitioner, including 5 years with BDO and 24 years with PwC.

Ms. Sun was qualified as a Chinese Certified Public Accountant in 1997. She is a member of China's Auditing Standards Board. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in International Accounting from Shanghai International Studies University.

Amaro Gomes joined the IAASB in January 2025, nominated by the Instituto dos Auditores Independentes do Brasil (IBRACON) and Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC).

Mr. Gomes is an independent consultant and member of the audit committee at Banco Bradesco (Brazil). He was previously the Brazilian Secretary of State for Coordination and Governance of Federal State-Owned Enterprises (2020-2021). He also served as a Board Member with the International Accounting Standards Board (2009-2019); as the Head of the Financial System Regulation Department (2004-2009) at the Central Bank of Brazil (where he joined in1992);  and as independent auditor with PwC (1986-1992).

Mr. Gomes is a CPA and earned his MA in Accounting and Finance in 1998 at Lancaster University (UK). He was awarded the Honor of Merit in 2022 by Universidade de Brasilia - UnB, where he earned his accounting baccalaureate in 1985, and the Alumni Outstanding Achievement for Graduate by Lancaster University in 2017.

Nancy Cheng was appointed to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) in January 2025. She was nominated by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada).

Ms. Cheng is currently the Board Chair of icddr,b, an international non-profit public health research institution based in Bangladesh. She is the Audit Committee Chair of Shared Services Canada and an Audit Committee member of Public Safety Canada, two departments in the Government of Canada. She also serves on the Board of CARE Canada.

Prior to her retirement, Ms. Cheng was an Assistant Auditor General at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, a senior practitioner in financial and performance auditing with over 30 years of experience. She was a member of the Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). She has served as its Vice-Chair and Chair of the AASB Steering Committee.

Ms. Cheng is a Fellow Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant, Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCPA, FCA). She is a member of CPA Canada and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) as well as a member of the Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

Ms. Cheng studied Commerce at Carleton University (Canada).

Mikiko Ono became a member of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) in January 2025.

She is currently a Director of Sustainability Disclosure Regulations and Investor & Stakeholder Engagement at Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Since joining the company as London Representative in Investor Relations in 2017, Ms. Ono has spearheaded engagement with global investors and sustainability disclosure practices mainly for capital markets by integrating financial and non-financial information. She also leads a company-wide sustainability disclosure project, collaborating closely with assurance professionals and colleagues across the globe to secure sustainability assurance for consolidated information, aligning with international disclosure standards.

Prior to her role at Recruit Holdings, Ms. Ono held various roles at major listed telecommunications companies in Japan. Her responsibilities spanned investor relations, international mergers and acquisitions, governance, and monitoring of investees, as well as marketing roles in both Japan and France.

Ms. Ono also served as a Technical Reference Member for the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of the IFRS Foundation from 2022 to 2023. She is also a Certified Member Analyst of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan (CMA). She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tokyo.

Svetlana Berger, CPA, CA, is an Associate Director with the Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). In her role, she leads efforts to support the Board's planning, prioritizing and execution of initiatives, including the development and issuance of auditing, assurance, and related services standards.

Ms. Berger has over 15 years of experience in standard setting. Before joining the AASB, she held leadership roles at IBM Canada and was a part-time university instructor. Her career began at PwC LLP in Toronto.

Ms. Berger holds an undergraduate degree and Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo (Canada). She is a member of CPA Canada and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

It is with profound sadness that IFEA announces the passing of Imran Vanker, a valued member of the IFEA family. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends following the tragic and sudden loss of Imran and his daughter yesterday. Our hearts go out to their loved ones during this unimaginable time.

Imran was a member of the IAASB from 2016 to 2021 and, through his work at the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) in South Africa, remained an esteemed colleague and member of the IAASB community. His passing, alongside that of his daughter, leaves an irreplaceable void.

Imran was a staunch supporter of IESBA, actively participating as a member of the IESBA-National Standard Setters liaison group. His commitment to ethical behavior was demonstrated through his inspiration and significant contributions during his years of service. 

“Imran will be remembered not only for his many contributions to the audit profession but also for the warmth and goodwill he brought to all IAASB discussions. Imran had a passion for serving the public interest, one that will be hard to replicate,” said Tom Seidenstein, IAASB Chair.

‘’Imran was a friend of the IESBA and a passionate advocate for ethics and integrity in the accounting profession. Imran’s legacy of ethical leadership will continue to guide us, and his memory will remain a source of inspiration for all who strive to uphold the highest standards in our work,” said Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, IESBA Chair.

As an organization, we share in the sorrow of this loss and are keeping the Vanker family in our thoughts. We will continue to honor their memory during this difficult time.

 This is a narrow scope maintenance of standards project to consider targeted amendments to IAASB standards arising from recently approved revisions to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ (IESBA) International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code) related to using the work of an external expert

IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein has been included in the Accounting Today listing of Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. 

Accounting Today: “The future of accounting will definitely be more global, and as head of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, few people have more influence over the future of audit and attest worldwide than Seidenstein, who’s also working to make his standard-setting more agile, more collaborative, and more relevant, while also pioneering areas involving sustainability and technology.”

Read the full listing on the Accounting Today website here.