Audit of future under international auditing and assurance standards

This research investigates the process of classification, preparation, reporting and examination of prospective financial information (PFI) within the scope of ISAE 3400: The Examination of Prospective Financial Information under International Auditing and Assurance Standards (IAAS). Regarding the convergence of standards, the study aims to analyze the regulations and discussion reports of some countries and determine the role and responsibilities of company managements and auditors. Accordingly, the current discussions mainly focus on the roles of auditors and the identification of the prospective financial information. Therefore, many countries have been developed a more detailed introductory guide for the examination of PFI especially for the practitioners. The research additionally undertakes a survey to the auditors that will take role in examining the PFI in order to determine their opinions and expectations about the audit of future-oriented information in Turkey. According to the results, most of the participants think that the prospective financial reports should be subject to independent audit process, which will increase the level of assurance given to the related parties. In addition, the challenges that may be encountered during the implementation of the standard can be the inadequacy of information about the subject in the country, especially the company managements, and the difficulty of managing the risk and uncertainties during the process. Finally, the research study shows that the auditors believe all kinds of future-oriented information in financial statements should be considered as integrated either the PFI is prepared for historical or prospective incentives. Key Words: Assurance Standards, Prospective Financial Information, ISAE 3400