On 11 April 2022, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) published the revised definition of a “Public Interest Entity” (PIE) in the International Code of Ethics.

The IESBA is hereby expanding the list of company categories that in future should be considered to be PIEs and whose audits will therefore be subject to additional independence requirements. As a result, the increased expectations of the interest groups with respect to the independence of the auditor in PIE audits will be met.

The IDW updated its Technical Advice on the Effects of the War in Ukraine on Accounting and Auditing (in German) on 8 April 2022 because the effects of the Ukraine War will be reflected in the balance sheets and profit and loss statements of the companies affected for the first time at the end of the first quarter.

In its notification of 4 March 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated the list of countries that are under FATF monitoring. In a notification of the same date, the FATF published a list of countries that have received a call for action from the FATF (unchanged as of the status of 21 February 2021).

The WPK most recently updated the overview of the lists on 8 April 2022 and has made them available in the Members area Meine WPK (in German) for information purposes.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has published the first two drafts of its sustainability standards for comments.

In light of recent events, the Auditors’ Supervisory Office (Abschlussprüferaufsichtsstelle - APAS) has expanded its 2022 Working Programme (which WPK reported on at “Neu auf WPK.de” of 13 January 2022 (in German)) with a chapter “Impacts of the Ukraine War”. The working programme is published on the APAS website (in German).

The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) has taken the lead in discussion the Commission’s Draft for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and voted on it at its meeting of 14 March 2022. From what we hear, JURI had the following views:

On 7 March 2022, the fourth version of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/352 of the European Commission of 29 November 2021 supplementing Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and Council with respect to technical regulatory standards for the specification of a single electronic reporting format (ESEF) was published in the Official Journal of the EU.

In April 2022, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) will hold three virtual round tables on the subject of Tax Planning and Related Services. The dates are as follows (German times):

• 25 April 2022, 5.00 to 9.00 pm,
• 26 April 2022, 2.00 to 6.00 pm,
• 28 April 2022, 6.00 to 10.00 pm.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is conducting an exposure draft on amendments to the Code of Ethics relating to the definition of engagement team and group audits (Proposed Revisions to the Code Relating to the Definition of Engagement Team and Group Audits). Comments are requested by 31 May 2022.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is conducting an exposure draft on amendments to the Code of Ethics (Code) relating to technology (Proposed Technology-related Revisions to the Code). Comments are requested by 22 June 2022.

On 23 February 2022, the EU Commission published the proposal for a directive for corporate sustainability due diligence. Companies are to be required to identify the negative impacts of their activities on human rights (such as child labour and exploitation of employees) and on the environment (for example, environmental pollution and loss of biodiversity) and, where necessary, to prevent, cease or reduce them. The proposal for the directive thus goes in the same direction as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

On 2 February 2022, the WPK released its opinion as part of the EU Consultation on Improving the Quality and Implementation of Company Reporting. The consultation covers the five areas outlined below.

On WPK.de, the WPK submitted its opinion on the Proposed International Standard on Auditing for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities – ED ISA for LCE to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).

The draft has been designed to represent a uniform worldwide approach to auditing, which should make the ISAa scalable and more appropriate for auditing less complex entities.