The AICPA has issued a Q&A to provide nonauthoritative guidance to auditors regarding independence requirements with respect to required supplementary information.
Question and Answer (Q&A) Section 9180.01 addresses the situation when required supplementary information accompanies financial statements subject to an audit, and that required supplementary information extends to historical prior periods (back periods) in which the auditor did not perform an engagement that required independence.
The Q&A states that the auditor is not required, for the purposes of complying with AU-C Section 730, Required Supplementary Information, to be independent of the entity in back periods as long as the auditor’s opinion does not cover required supplementary information.
—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA editorial director.
