Marek Grabowski Director of Audit Policy Financial Reporting Council 5th Floor, Aldwych House 71 – 91 Aldwych London WC2B 4HN 1 May 2013 By email:
[email protected] Dear Marek Implementing the Recommendations of the Sharman Panel: Revised Guidance on Going Concern and revised International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) (‘the draft guidance’) Introductory remarks Chartered Accountants Ireland (‘the Institute’) is pleased to respond to the above consultation. In framing our response, both in terms of general comments and in answering the specific questions in the Consultation, we have had regard to the particular circumstance of Chartered Accountants Ireland which has significant membership both in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. We are also grateful to staff of the Financial Reporting Council (‘FRC’) who took the time to visit Dublin recently to meet with various Irish stakeholders to discuss both these proposals and other FRC proposals for amending ISA 700 (UK & Ireland) ‘The Auditor’s Report on Financial Statements’. This meeting has been helpful to us in finalising our comments, as has the public meeting held by the FRC in London on 25th April. The Institute has previously expressed its support for a key aim of the Sharman Inquiry, namely to address questions that have been previously raised about the ‘quality of information provided on companies financial health and their ability to withstand economic and financial stresses in the short, medium, and longer term’. In our comments on the original Sharman Inquiry ‘call for evidence’ the Institute expressed the view that enhanced disclosures of an entity’s financial risks would be of benefit to stakeholders in assessing the sustainability of an entity.