April 25, 2017, letter commenting on IESBA's January 2017 Exposure Draft, "Proposed Revisions Pertaining to Safeguards in the Code--Phase 2 and Related Conforming Amendments"

This letter provides GAO's response to the exposure draft, Proposed Revisions Pertaining to Safeguards in the Code--Phase 2 and Related Conforming Amendments. GAO promulgates generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) in the United States. GAGAS provides a framework for conducting high-quality audits of government awards with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence. GAGAS's use is required of auditors of both domestic and international U.S. government awards. Therefore, we anticipate that the International Federation of Accountants' member professional accountants will under some circumstances be required to practice in accordance with GAGAS and the new International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) standard simultaneously. Our comments reflect the importance we place on reinforcing the values promoted in both the IESBA code and GAGAS.