Opinion:
Consultation of the IAASB due to the amended PIE Definition

On 10 February 2025, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) published a so-called Post-Exposure- consultation before finalizing the narrow scope amendments to the International Standards on Quality Management (ISQMs) and the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (“PIE Track 2 Project”) presented last year (Invitation to Comment Before the IAASB Finalizes the Narrow Scope Amendments to the ISQMs and ISAs as a Result of the Revisions to the Definitions of Listed Entity and Public Interest Entity in the IESBA Code). The WPK commented on 27 March 2025.

WPK recommends the Continuation of Efforts to define a uniform PIE Term

The WPK expresses its regret that the original objective of a uniform definition of a Public Interest Entity (PIE) between the IAASB and the IESBA could not be realized. The WPK strongly recommends that these efforts be continued.

Furthermore, the WPK explains that although the stricter requirements should only apply to “publicly traded entities”, the envisaged opening clause for national jurisdictions would, however, come to nothing, as this term is not defined in the EU. This means that companies whose shares (debt instruments or similar) are traded on non-regulated markets or over-the-counter could also fall under the definition in future.

Against this background, the WPK is in favor of clarifying that the differentiated requirements should only apply to those “publicly traded entities” that also fall under the definition of a PIE in the respective jurisdiction. Details can be found in the statement.