Conceptually, assurance includes audits and reviews, but the ISAEs do not supersede the ISAs. The objective of an assurance engagement is for a professional accountant to evaluate a subject matter that is the responsibility of another party against identified suitable criteria and to express a conclusion that provides the intended user with a high or moderate level of assurance about that subject matter. The professional accountant must be able to consistently evaluate the subject matter using the criteria. In addition, professional accountants in public practice have to be independent as discussed in Part B of IFAC's Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants . This ISAE is effective for high-level assurance engagements when the report is dated on or after December 31, 2001.
Earlier application is encouraged.
For additional explanations and illustrations necessary to apply the basic principles, as well as a helpful practice aid, see the 2001 edition of PPC's Guide to International Auditing Standards and Related Services . ISA 505, External Confirmations ISA 505 establishes standards and provides guidance on the auditor's use of external confirmations as a means of obtaining audit evidence. Generally, audit evidence from external sources is more reliable than internally generated evidence, and written evidence is more reliable than oral evidence. Accordingly, written responses to confirmation requests received directly by the auditor from third parties who are not related to the entity being audited generally provide more reliable evidence. Assessed level of inherent and control risk.