The American Institute of CPAs has assembled a set of training courses and online resources to help auditors implement its new clarified auditing standards, which take effect next month.

Within its Clarity Project, the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board has been working to redraft nearly all of the auditing sections in the Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, which are contained in the AICPA’s Professional Standards, to reflect the ASB’s established clarity drafting conventions, which are designed to make the standards easier to read, understand, and apply.

Among other improvements, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards now more clearly state the objectives of the auditor and the requirements with which the auditor has to comply when conducting an audit in accordance with GAAS.

As part of the redrafting, the ASB also converged the clarified standards with those issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. All but one of the new standards become effective for engagements beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2012.

To help auditors understand the new clarified auditing standards, the AICPA has developed a Learning and Implementation Plan that highlights several available resources, including:

• Understanding the Clarified Auditing Standards – 2012 Audit Risk Alert – An introduction to the background and implications of the Clarity Project, with a chart of soon-to-be-implemented changes to current standards. This is available in a specially priced bundle with Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards.

• The Clarified Auditing Standards....Talk to the Experts – A panel of experts answers questions on the Clarity Project, addressing many of the changes auditors are facing as they implement the clarified auditing standards.

• The Engagement Letter: Best Practices and Examples – A how-to guide on drafting effective client engagement letters, with changes reflecting clarified auditing standards.

“The Clarity Project is designed to make auditing standards clearer and more consistent with international standards, and firms need to be aware that in some cases these changes can be substantive,” said AICPA vice president of professional standards and services Charles Landes in a statement. “The AICPA has put together a number of resources so that practitioners can update their procedures and have a firm grasp of the underlying reasons for the changes.”

A full list of Clarity Project-related materials is available at the AICPA Store’s dedicated product page. AICPA members are eligible for discounts, and select products come with an additional 20 percent markdown through the end of the year.