Attestation

TOPICS / AUDIT & ASSURANCE

September 26, 2022

PCAOB seeks comments on interim attestation standards

The PCAOB issued a staff request for information and comment on the application and use of the board’s interim attestation standards.

July 1, 2022

New possibilities when performing attestation services

Recently issued standards provide options for clients and flexibility for practitioners.

May 28, 2021

Auditors may see increased demand for ESG attestation

Regulators and standard setters are promulgating new requirements for environmental, social and governance information, and that may lead many companies to call upon external auditors to examine their ESG disclosures.

March 10, 2021

PEEC addresses ‘Records Requests,’ limits on loaning staff to attest clients

The AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee issued an amendment that clarifies the responsibilities of AICPA members responding to client requests for client-provided records. PEEC also limited firms’ ability to loan staff to attest clients.

December 15, 2020

FAQs on SOC 2 and SOC 3 engagements issued by AICPA staff

The AICPA staff has posted new FAQ guidance on issues related to System and Organization Controls 2 and 3 (SOC 2 and SOC 3) engagements.

December 9, 2020

New attestation standard clarifies work effort of review engagements

The limited assurance obtained by a practitioner in a review engagement is clarified in a standard issued by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board.

October 27, 2020

Cybersecurity provides opportunities for auditors to serve

Practitioners can provide services to clients related to cybersecurity beyond their financial statement auditing role, according to a newly published report from the Center for Audit Quality.

October 23, 2020

Gauging risk assessment and response processes

How well do auditors perform in assessing and responding to risks of material misstatement? New research provides some answers.

September 30, 2020

‘Direct examination’ engagement created by SSAE No. 21

Practitioners will be able to perform a new engagement known as a direct examination for clients under a new standard published by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB).

September 22, 2020

AICPA ethics proposal would limit firms’ loaning of staff to attest clients

CPA firms’ ability to loan staff to attest clients would be limited to rare circumstances under a newly proposed AICPA ethics interpretation.

September 1, 2020

More flexibility for agreed-upon procedures

Statement on Standards for Attestation
Engagements (SSAE) No. 19, Agreed-Upon
Procedures Engagements, provides practitioners more flexibility for performing agreed-upon procedures engagements.

March 12, 2020

SEC exempts certain companies from ICFR attestation requirement

The SEC issued amendments that exempt smaller reporting companies with less than $100 million in revenue from the requirement to obtain attestation of their internal control over financial reporting from an outside auditor.

December 1, 2019

Independence and information systems services

A recently issued independence interpretation contains guidance for CPAs’ interactions with attest clients’ information systems.

October 10, 2019

Sustainability assurance’s link to reporting quality

The steady growth in assurance of sustainability reports suggests that companies increasingly perceive that there are net benefits of having their sustainability reports assured.

September 1, 2018

Proposed standard would revise SSAE No. 18

If approved, the standard would give practitioners added flexibility.

July 11, 2018

Proposed SSAE would increase flexibility for practitioners in performing attestation engagements

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued a proposal that would make numerous changes to the attestation standards, including changing the terminology for what have been known as “review engagements.”

May 1, 2018

The trouble with nondisclosure agreements in attest engagements

CPA firms must take care not to run afoul of professional standards if they are asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.

March 21, 2018

New FAQs address familiarity threats for long-tenured senior engagement personnel

Two new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) issued by the AICPA Professional Ethics Division provide nonauthoritative guidance for the effects on independence when senior personnel have been on an attest engagement team for a long period.

February 1, 2018