IESBA Strategy Survey Questionnaire April 2017

ACCA response to International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) Strategy Survey

We welcome the opportunity to participate in this survey, which we understand to be a preliminary stage before the IESBA exposes its strategy consultation for comment in 2018.

We are pleased to see a clear intention to resist 'standards overload' and to resist further changes to the Code in the near future following the completion of the restructure project.

We believe that the justification for this should not only be to allow firms and national standard setters to implement the necessary changes, but also that professional accountants should be given the opportunity to test the effectiveness of the restructured Code without the 'noise' of constant change.

We are also pleased to see an acknowledgement that not all projects and initiatives will culminate in changes to the Code. Sometimes, a more proportionate and effective outcome will be guidance such as question and answer publications or case studies.

Our detailed comments in respect of specific areas to which we responded within the survey are set out in the document below.