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IESBA Staff - New Questions & Answers: International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA)
- 20 October 2026
- Ethics and Professionalism
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has released a new Questions & Answers (Q&As) publication to support sustainability assurance practitioners, jurisdictional standard setters, professional accountancy organizations, and accreditation bodies as they adopt, implement, or apply the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (including International Independence Standards) (IESSA™).
Article:
The IESBA Staff Questions and Answers publication focuses on ethics and independence considerations for practitioners performing sustainability assurance engagements, and is designed to highlight, illustrate, or explain aspects of the IESSA and thereby assist in its proper application.
This new publication builds on the June 2025 IESBA Staff Q&As on the IESSA, which addressed other matters relating to the implementation of the IESSA. Access the 2025 version at https://ifacweb.blob.core.windows.net/publicfiles/2025-06/IESBA%20Staff%20Questions%20%20Answers%20-final.pdf Refer to our previous Alert dated 13 June 2025
IESBA and IAASB Staff also issued a joint publication in June 2025 addressing frequently asked questions relevant to the application of both the IESSA and ISSA 5000 – access at https://ifacweb.blob.core.windows.net/publicfiles/2025-06/Joint-IAASB-IESBA-FAQs-on-Sustainability-Assurance.pdf. Refer to our previous Alert dated 13 June 2025
Specifically, the 9 new Staff Q&As address matters relating to:
- Effective date and transitional provisions, including the treatment of prior service for purposes of leader rotation, the deferred effective date for certain independence provisions relating to value chain components, and transitional arrangements for non-assurance services;
- Rotation of engagement leaders and other key sustainability assurance leaders, including how the leader rotation requirements apply in different circumstances where firms and individuals perform audit and sustainability assurance engagements for the same public interest entity; and
- Non-assurance services, including services provided before accepting a sustainability assurance engagement and the provision of advice and recommendations to sustainability assurance clients.
With the effective date of IESSA approaching on 15 December 2026, the Staff Q&As aim to reinforce support for its implementation.
Click here to download the 7-page document:
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
- As an accountant, auditor and independent reviewer, you need to be aware of and consider the information contained in publications by various professional bodies and standard-setters, e.g. IESBA, IAASB, etc. – so that you can apply this in the performance of your duties – especially with regards to sustainability assurance and the related ethics.