譯者注：本文是最新刊出的考官文章。其背景是，審計本質(zhì)是對客戶會計認定Assertions的審核。認定包括：余額Balances,交易Transactions, 披露Disclosures。一直以來，財報審計重點是財報余額和交易，而不是披露。本文對此形成補充。

Inrecent years, IAASB considered the issue of auditing disclosures in FSs,prompted by a number of factors incl developments in IFRS requirements & theincreased level of complexity & subjectivity involved in the preparation ofinfo to be disclosed in FSs. This article examines this issue, & remindscandidates to review the examinable documents list for guidance. 鑒于IFRS的發(fā)展和財報披露信息日益增加的復(fù)雜性和準備過程中的主觀性，IAASB（國際審計和鑒證理事會）近年來著手財報信息披露的審計?？忌粢?，這是P7考試范圍。（注：下圖是部分P7考試范圍的截圖。新審計報告和本文涉及的披露審計是16年關(guān)注重點。ACCA官方說Topics of exposure drafts areexaminable to the extent that relevant articles about them are published inStudent Accountant. 只要出了相關(guān)文章，就可能考。）

Disclosures in FSs 財報披露

Auditorsare required to express an opinion on FSsas a whole. This includes the notesto FSs which are an integral part of the accounts, providing additionalinfo on Balances & Transactions & other relevant info. Therefore, it isimportant that during all stages of the audit, the auditor gives appropriateconsideration to & plans to obtain S&A evidence in relation to thedisclosures in the notes to FSs. 審計要對財報整體發(fā)表意見，包括財報不可分割的附注部分，因為附注提供了關(guān)于余額和交易和其他事項的更多信息，幫助財報使用者經(jīng)濟決策。審計在整個審計過程中都要適當關(guān)注附注信息披露，并獲取充分和適當?shù)膶徲嬜C據(jù)。

ISA200,Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor & the Conduct of an Auditin Accordance w/ International Stds on Auditing specifies that FSs includerelated notes which ‘comprise a summary of the significantaccounting policies & other explanatory info ’. The notes to FSscontain different types of info, some quantitative & some qualitative, asrequired by IFRS. ISA200 審計目標和規(guī)范明確：財報包括相關(guān)附注；附注包括重大會計政策和其他解釋性信息。根據(jù)IFRS, 附注分為定量的和定性兩種，比如：

Quantitativedisclosures量化披露

1)  Disaggregation & analysisof balances & transactions included in FSs, like PPE, intangible assets,provisions, lease obligations, fin instruments. 余額和交易的分解和分析，如固定資產(chǎn)，無形資產(chǎn)，預(yù)提，租賃，金融工具等。

2)  Segmental analysis ofrevenue, profit & certain other items, & info about major customers(for listed companies). 分部分析，如收入，利潤和其他信息，(上市公司的)重要客戶信息.

3)  Summarised fin info inrelation to associates & JV. 聯(lián)營和合資公司的匯總財務(wù)信息。

Qualitativedisclosures 定性披露:

1)  Descriptions ofsignificant accounting policies & areas where critical accounting judgmenthas been exercised, & rationale for any changes in accounting policies. 涉及關(guān)鍵會計判斷的重大會計政策和領(lǐng)域，以及會計政策變更的理由。（注：IAS8; 比如中國鋼鐵業(yè)曾經(jīng)統(tǒng)一延長固定資產(chǎn)折舊年限“改善盈利”。。。）

2)  Confirmation that GCassumption is appropriate or discussion of significant doubt over GC.解釋持續(xù)經(jīng)營的基本假設(shè)或有關(guān)重大顧慮（注：IAS1; 關(guān)于后者，請聯(lián)想EOM意見，關(guān)鍵詞DOUBT）

3)  Info on related parties& RPTs. 關(guān)聯(lián)方和關(guān)聯(lián)方交易信息（注：IAS24; 關(guān)聯(lián)交易屬于“性質(zhì)”上的重要性事件，往往隱含欺詐或違規(guī)交易，屬高審計風險領(lǐng)域。）

4)  Explanation of impairmentlosses recognised in the year. 年度減損（IAS36；一般企業(yè)傾向于少計資產(chǎn)減損，特別是無形資產(chǎn)，固定資產(chǎn)和存貨，從而“保障”利潤。）

5)  Discussion of areas ofrisk, e.g. those relating to fin instruments. 有關(guān)風險，如金融工具。

Akey driver for IAASB’s consultation & the exposure draft (ED), AddressingDisclosures in the Audit of FSs, issued in May 2014, is that in recentyears, IFRS requirements in relation to disclosures in the notes to FSs havebecome more onerous. The ED states that ‘over the past decade, fin reportingdisclosure requirements & practices have evolved. They now provide moreextensive decision-useful info that is more detailed & often deals w/matters that are subjective such as assumptions, models, alternativemeasurement bases & sources of estimation uncertainty. As these finreporting disclosures continue to evolve, challenges have arisen for preparers& auditors in addressing new types of quantitative & non-quantitative info’. IAASB2014年5月頒布這個ED, 主要是因為IFRS的發(fā)展和財報披露信息日益復(fù)雜。近十年來，財報附注提供更深入詳細的決策輔助信息，而且往往是主觀性事項，比如基本假設(shè)，估值模型，另類計量基礎(chǔ)，不確定性估計。隨著財報披露的演化，會計師（做報表的）和審計師們就必須著手處理財報信息披露問題。

The challenges for Auditors審計師的挑戰(zhàn)

Risk of irrelevant disclosures & determiningmateriality過度披露和重要性：

IAASBis concerned that in some FSs excessive disclosure is being provided, sometimesof immaterial matters that do not need to be disclosed. This makes it difficultfor FS readers to focus on the important matters due to the ‘info overload’.This is a difficult area for auditor because often judgment is needed to decidewhether or not a matter should be disclosed. Companies might prefer to providetoo much rather than too little, in the aim of full transparency, but end upproviding irrelevant or unnecessary disclosures which obscure the rest of the infoincluded. IAASB擔心，企業(yè)出于滿足透明度的（公司治理）要求，而過度披露，提供過多不重要信息，從而掩蓋其他重要信息。審計師面臨的挑戰(zhàn)就是判斷某些事項是否應(yīng)該披露。

Linkedto the point above, it can be very difficult to apply materiality todisclosures, esp those of a quantitative nature. IAASB has considered whetheradditional guidance should be given to auditors to help them to determinewhether qualitative disclosures are material or not by making a preliminary determination at the planningstage of audit of those disclosures that could reasonably be expected to influencethe economic decisions of users. This would help the auditor to better identify disclosures material bytheir nature or their monetary value, & to planappropriate audit procedures. 審計師很難在信息披露上運用重要性，特別是非量化信息。IAASB考慮提供更多指引，讓審計在計劃階段進行一些初步判斷（基于性質(zhì)和金額）然后設(shè)計合適的審計程序。

Sourcesof info 信息來源：

Akey concern of IAASB is that the info included in FS notes, whetherquantitative or qualitative in nature is derived from systems & processesthat are not part of the G/L system. Examples could include, forward lookingstatements, descriptions of models used in FV measurements, descriptions ofrisk exposures & other narrative disclosures. This causes several potentialproblems to the auditor, respondents involved in IAASB’s consultations notedthat this issue poses some of the most challenging aspects of preparing & auditingdisclosures. IAASB的一個主要顧慮是附注信息來源，因為這些信息不是從總賬系統(tǒng)生成的（就是說，附注不是賬），比如財務(wù)展望，F(xiàn)V計價模型描述，風險描述和其他一些文字性披露。這對會計和審計都是個大挑戰(zhàn)。

Oneproblem is whether the system or process from which info is derived, when it isoutside of normal accounting processes, has any IC to provide assurance on thecompleteness, accuracy & validity of the info. E.g., info on fininstruments may be provided by a company’s treasury mgt function, which couldhave very different systems & procedures to the accounting function, with adifferent level of control risk attached. The systems & controls may bedeficient, creating higher audit risk. This may particularly be the case whendealing w/ one-off disclosures, e.g. in relation to the situation causing animpairment loss. In some cases, due to lack of the documentation that wouldnormally be expected for more routine transactions or events captured by theaccounting system, it may be difficult to obtain S&A evidence on disclosures.一個大問題就是生成這些披露信息的系統(tǒng)或流程是否有合適的內(nèi)控來保證信息完整，準確和有效，比如金融工具信息可能是客戶資金管理部門提供的，他們可能用的是和會計部門不同的系統(tǒng)，有不同程度的控制風險。這些可能低效的系統(tǒng)和控制導(dǎo)致更高的審計風險。在處理一次性披露時問題特別大，如資產(chǎn)減損。有時，因為披露信息系統(tǒng)不象一般會計系統(tǒng)那樣有詳盡文檔記錄日常交易事項，審計師搜集有關(guān)披露的證據(jù)就比較困難。

Timingconsiderations 時點問題：

IAASBnotes that often disclosures are prepared by mgt very late in the auditprocess. Often, when the auditor is planning the audit, draft disclosures arenot available, so it is not possible for the auditor to plan the audit ofdisclosures until much later in the audit process. This could lead to higheraudit risk in that there may not be much time to assess the risk relating todisclosures & to perform the necessary procedures. This is especially thecase where disclosures are complex, e.g. in relation to fin instruments, or subjective,e.g. in relation to FV measurement. 財報信息披露往往準備的比較晚。審計師做計劃時，披露草稿還沒提供，所以就不能及時計劃。這可能導(dǎo)致高審計風險，因為審計可能后來缺乏時間來評估披露風險和執(zhí)行必要的程序，特別是在披露信息很復(fù)雜的時候，如金融工具或很主觀的FV計量。

IAASB Proposals 提議

IAASBproposed additional guidance to establish an appropriate focus on disclosures in the audit & encourage earlier auditor attention on themduring the audit process. There is also a proposal to amend the definition of FSs contained in the ISAs, to ensure anappropriate emphasis on the importance of disclosures as part of the FSs. 為強調(diào)財報審計中的信息披露問題，IAASB早有準備，提議1）適當關(guān)注；2）盡早留意；3）修訂審計準則里的有關(guān)定義，如：

Proposedchanges to ISAs include new application material to:

1.  Amend the term ‘FSs’ usedin ISAs to include all disclosures subject to audit & to includethat such disclosures may be found in the related notes, on the faceof FSs, or incorporated by cross-reference as allowable by some finreporting frameworks. 修訂ISA里的“財報”術(shù)語 --- 所有披露信息都屬審計范圍；披露信息可能在財報附注里或包含在有關(guān)索引參照資料里（只要財報準則允許）；

2.  Emphasise the importanceof giving appropriate attention to, & planning adequate timefor addressing disclosures in the same way as classes of transactions, events& account balances, & early consideration of matters such assignificant new or revised disclosures. 強調(diào)披露審計的重要性，象審計交易和余額一樣計劃足夠時間，及早考慮有關(guān)重大事項的披露（不論新舊）；

3.  Focus auditors on additionalmatters relating to disclosures that may be discussed w/ those charged w/ governance,in particular at the planning stage of the audit. 和客戶治理層額外溝通披露事項，特別是在審計計劃階段；

4.  Emphasise that, whenagreeing the terms of engagement, the auditor should emphasise mgt’sresponsibility, early in the audit process, to make available info relevant todisclosures. 在達成審計合約時，強調(diào)管理層責任 --- 提供相關(guān)披露信息；

5.  Provide additionalexamples of misstatements in disclosures to highlight the types ofmisstatements that may be found in disclosures, & to clarify thatidentified misstatements, incl those in disclosures & irrespective ofwhether they occur in quantitative or non-quantitative info, need to beaccumulated & evaluated for their effect on the FSs. 提供更多的披露錯報案例，明確（包括披露在內(nèi)的）錯報分類，要求累計和評估對財報的影響。

Interms of specific planning considerations, IAASB recommends improvements tosome aspects of risk assessment & materiality determination to encourage amore robust risk assessment relating to disclosures: 為在審計計劃階段加強對披露風險的評估和重要性判斷，IAASB建議：

1.  Expanding the guidance onmatters to consider in understanding entity & its environment, incl theentity’s IC, & assessing RMMs for disclosures, incl materialityconsiderations for non-quantitative disclosures. 在了解客戶以及運營環(huán)境是，多考慮一些事項，比如內(nèi)控，評估披露方面的重大錯報風險和非量化披露的重要性；

2.  Highlighting disclosures,incl examples of relevant matters, for consideration during the discussionamong the engagement team of the susceptibility of the entity’s FSs to materialmisstatement, incl. from fraud. 審計團隊內(nèi)部溝通時，強調(diào)披露重大錯報的可能性，包括欺詐性的披露錯報；

3.  Integrating the separatecategory for assertions relating to presentation & disclosure intothe categories for account balances & transactions to promotetheir more consistent & effective use. 整合三大會計認定（列報披露+會計余額+交易），就是強調(diào)（本來被忽視的）披露認定；

4.  Acknowledging & givingprominence to, disclosures where the info is not derived from the accountingsystem, & related considerations pertaining to this source of auditevidence. 特別留意從非會計系統(tǒng)生成的披露信息以及相應(yīng)的審計證據(jù)；

5.  In relation tomateriality, clarifying that the nature of potential misstatements indisclosures, in particular non-quantitative disclosures, is also relevant tothe design of audit procedures to address the RMMs. 在重要性上，明確披露錯報的性質(zhì)，特別是非量化信息，和（應(yīng)對重大錯報風險的）審計程序設(shè)計密切相關(guān)。

Conclusion 結(jié)論

IAASB acknowledged that while disclosures have an increased prominence in FSs, the audit of disclosures is difficult for a number of reasons. Through a process of public consultation, IAASB proposed additional guidance in this area, to provide auditors w/ practical guidance & serve to reduce audit risk. 總（吹）結(jié)（水）。。。目的只有一個：降低審計風險。

2016 ACCA學習資料大禮包（內(nèi)含ACCA歷年真題、考官文章、考官報告、備考寶典等實用學習資料），關(guān)注微信公眾號：ACCA考友論壇（ID:ACCA-CHN）即可領(lǐng)?。?/p>