The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) has amended its auditing standard on letters for underwriters and certain other requesting parties.
The ASB did not originally intend to significantly change or expand AU Section 634, Letters for Underwriters and Certain Other Requesting Parties, when it was redrafted and issued as AU-C Section 920, Letters for Underwriters and Certain Other Requesting Parties, as part of the clarity project.
But the ASB issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 129, Amendment to Statement on Auditing Standards No. 122 Section 920, Letters for Underwriters and Certain Other Requesting Parties, as Amended, to amend AU-C Section 920 in order to address implementation issues and avoid unintended changes to previous practice.
SAS No. 129 becomes effective for comfort letters issued on or after Dec. 15, 2014. Early implementation is encouraged.
The SAS also contains additional amendments to further clarify AU-C Section 920.
An executive summary about the new SAS provides more details and is available on the AICPA’s website.
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Ken Tysiac (
ktysiac@aicpa.org
) is a JofA editorial director.
