The Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2022, and three related regulations came into effect on February 1, 2023.
The Accountants (Amendment) Act is supported by The Accountants (Application for Membership) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, and The Accountants (Disciplinary) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023. Collectively, they allow the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) to continue their effective oversight functions of the local practice of accounting.
In addition, The Accountants (Quality Assurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, also came into force, which supports the local adoption and practice of new international standards for quality management regarding audits, reviews of financial statement, or other assurance or related services engagements and engagement quality reviews.
The existing Accountants (Quality Assurance) Regulations state that assurance engagements shall be conducted in accordance with standards issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
In December 2020, the IAASB issued International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1 regarding quality management for firms that perform audits or reviews of financial statements, or other assurance or related services engagements; and ISQM 2, regarding engagement quality reviews.
Firms were required to have systems of quality management designed and implemented in accordance with ISQM 1 by 15 December 2022. ISQM 2 is effective for audits and reviews of financial statements for periods beginning in or after 15 December 2022.