Work is well underway on the project to produce viable assurance services for SMEs other than audit.
On September 29, 2008 IFAC released a consultation paper Matters to Consider in a Revision of International Standard on Review Engagements (ISRE) 2400, "Engagements to Review Financial Statements" developed by staff from the national auditing standard setters of New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. The paper may be downloaded from the IFAC website at http://www.ifac.org/ED. The comment period closed in December 2008. Some 15 responses were received (see http://www.ifac.org/Guidance/EXD-Outstanding.php). At its June 2009 meeting the IAASB discussed an issues paper based on the responses to the consultation paper (see http://www.ifac.org/IAASB/Meeting-BGPapers.php?MID=0167&ViewCat=1085).
You may also wish to read about the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA's) Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) Reliability Project. This makes some radical proposals on how to revamp the review engagement. The aim is to enable CPAs to perform limited assurance engagements for clients when the external CPA performs certain control services. The accountant would still be precluded from providing any assurance service when he or she has a financial or relationship interest in the company. It is expected that current compilation and review standards will be maintained. The ARSC plans to expose a new standard in the spring of 2009. For more information, visit the AICPA's Web site.
We would be very happy to hear any comments you may have on these developments.