A possible implementation of the standard will happen in a broad context. It is not only a technical issue and the context comes first; in Finland the Finnish.

1. Commenting LinkedIn Pulse: “Audit of Small Undertakings – Is SASE the Solution?” Text by “Mr. SASE
Finland”, Tapani Vuopala on SASE in Finland (Text in Finnish).
The history and future of SASE has to be seen in a broader context, it’s not just a technical “audit standard”
intended for domestic or global use.
Much of its origin is from the situation in the Nordic countries what comes to low mandatory audit
thresholds and the implementation of the new EU Audit Directive. Compared to other EU member states,
the Nordic countries have exceptionally low thresholds. Finland has the lowest (turnover
200.000€/100.000€/3) closely followed by Sweden. A profitable audit is a challenge.
Further what comes to the context in Finland, a central part of the new government strategy for the
recovery of its economy, is to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for the business. A mandatory
audit is in this context to be seen as burden for small entities.
The government has now a great opportunity for a more liberal legislation which gives the business can
choose a standard that gives the right level of assurance according to the needs and circumstances; there
should be a variety of alternatives for the small entity to assure its financial reporting.
Further, one could ask oneself – or actually the NRF - is SASE the right tool to achieve these national related
goals? What is the impact on not only the burden of the client entity but also of the profession?
In Finland, to open the road for alternatives like the review assurance is the only solution to establish
higher threshold for the mandatory audit? Or why not take the same liberal legislation approach as in
Denmark, where small entities qualify for assurance/audit exemption up to approx. 1 m€ and which equate
an “extended review” assurance with an audit up to approx. 8 m€?
27.07.2015 Lasse Åkerblad, auditor