Exposure Drafts, Comment Letters, and Statements of Position
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Description
The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is considering the issuance of a statement on auditing standards to provide guidance to auditors on performing and reporting on applying agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement. The ASB has observed that there is diversity in practice in performing and reporting on these engagements, and that the existing guidance does not address a number of issues auditors should consider. In addition, the ASB has concluded that negative assurance should be eliminated from reports on engagements covered by the Statement. The proposed Statement provides guidance to assist the auditor in understanding: a. The nature of an engagement to apply agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement. b. Conditions for performance of an engagement to apply agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement. c. The nature, timing, and extent of procedures, including the involvement of internal auditors and others. d. The responsibilities of the auditor and the specified users. e. How to report procedures performed and related findings. The proposed Statement would supersede Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 35, Special Reports—Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures to Specified Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 622). Furthermore, as a consequence of superseding SAS No. 35, the proposed Statement would require conforming changes to certain SASs and related Interpretations and to the Attest Interpretation "Responding to Requests for Reports on Matters Relating to Solvency" (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AT sec. 9100.33-44). In addition, it would require updating the guidance in the following: a. Statements on Auditing Standards: (1) SAS No. 26, Association With Financial Statements (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 504); (2) SAS No. 62, Special Reports (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 623); (3) SAS No. 70, Reports on the Processing of Transactions by Service Organizations (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 324); (4) SAS No. 72, Letters for Underwriters and Certain Other Requesting Parties (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 634). b. Audit and Accounting Guides: (1) Audits of Banks; (2) Audits of Credit Unions; (3) Audits of Employee Benefit Plans; (4) Audits of Property and Liability Insurance Companies; (5) Audits of Savings Institutions; (6) Audits of Service-Center-Produced Records; (7) Personal Financial Statements Guide. c. Statement of Position (SOP) 90-6, Directors' Examinations of Banks (appendix H to Audit and Accounting Guide Audits of Banks). Commentators to this proposed Statement should be aware that auditors performing an engagement on the application of agreed-upon procedures under the auditing standards must be independent pursuant to rule 101 of the Code of Professional Conduct (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 2, ET sec. 101). Commentators to this proposed Statement should also be aware that, concurrent with exposure of this proposed Statement, the ASB has issued an exposure draft of a statement on standards for attestation engagements (SSAE) for agreed-upon procedures engagements falling under those standards. The proposed SSAE addresses a number of issues that also are being addressed in this proposed Statement. The significant difference is that, since the proposed SAS deals with specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement, the presence of a written assertion as a condition of engagement performance is not required. The ASB believes a written assertion is not required in an engagement to apply agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement, because assertions are effectively embodied in such specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement when the basis of accounting is clearly evident.
Publication Date
1994
Relational Format
Book
Keywords
Financial statements -- Standards -- United States
Disciplines
Accounting | Taxation
Recommended Citation
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Auditing Standards Board, "Proposed statement on auditing standards : engagements to apply agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement ;Engagements to apply agreed-upon procedures to specified elements, accounts, or items of a financial statement; Exposure draft (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), 1994, Oct. 28" (1994). Exposure Drafts, Comment Letters, and Statements of Position. 604.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_sop/604
Comments
Originally published by: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Copyright and permission to reprint held by: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.