Clarifying the Attestation Standards Commonly known as attestation standards Apply to engagements that address subject matter other than historical financial statements eg an ID: 526871
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Slide1
Statements on Standards for Attestation EngagementsSlide2
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Commonly known
as
attestation standards
Apply to engagements
that address subject matter
other than historical financial
statements
,
e.g
:
an
entity’s compliance with laws or
regulations
the
effectiveness of an entity’s controls over the privacy of information
a financial
forecast
Address examination, review and agreed-upon procedures (AUP) engagementsSlide3
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
4 “general” AT sections that provide a framework for developing an attestation engagement
AT 20
,
Defining Professional Requirements in Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements
AT 50
,
SSAE Hierarchy
AT 101
,
Attest Engagements
(which addresses examination and review engagements)
AT 201
,
Agreed-Upon Procedures
EngagementsSlide4
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Currently: 6 “topic-specific” AT sections for reporting on
prospective financial information (AT 301)
pro forma financial information (AT 401)
internal control over financial reporting (AT 501)
compliance with laws and regulations (AT 601)
management’s discussion and analysis (AT 701)
controls at service organizations (AT 801)
Slide5
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Objective: to make AT sections easier to read, understand and apply
Redraft in clarity format
New structure (objective is to eliminate repetition)
Chapter
1: Concepts common to
all attestation
engagements
Chapters 2-4: Levels of service (examination, review, agreed-upon procedures).
Each
chapter addresses a specific level of service and builds on the common concepts
chapter
Subject-matter specific chapters
Each chapter builds
on common concepts and
level
of service
chaptersSlide6
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Example – Reporting on an examination of prospective financial information
Currently, the following AT sections apply:
AT 20
AT 50
AT 401
Proposed structure, the following sections would apply:
Chapter 1, Common Concepts
Chapter 2, Examinations
Chapter X, ForecastsSlide7
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Convergence
with standards of the
International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)
Foundation
for the common concepts, examination, and review sections of the proposed attestation
standards:
AICPA’s existing attestation standards
IAASB
International Standards on Assurance Engagements (ISAE)
3000
,
“
Assurance
Engagements Other than Audits
or Reviews
of Historical Financial
Information”
(Dec 2013)
ISAE
3000 is
IAASB’s
framework standard for assurance engagements
(equivalent
of attestation
engagements)
ISAE
3410,
Assurance Engagements on Greenhouse Gas
EmissionsSlide8
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Convergence
with standards of the
International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)
AT 801 was
converged with ISAE 3402,
Assurance Reports on Controls at a Service Organization,
when SSAE No.
16,
Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization
,
was issued in April 2010
Proposed
“Reporting on Pro Forma
Financial
Information,” includes elements of ISAE 3420,
Assurance Engagements to Report on the Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information Included in a ProspectusSlide9
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
July 2013, the ASB issued an exposure draft of the first four “chapters”
Common Concepts
Examinations
Reviews
Agreed-upon Procedures
January 2014,
the ASB
issued an exposure draft of the
following subject-specific chapters:
Financial Forecasts and Projections
Reporting on Pro Forma Financial Information
Compliance AttestationSlide10
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
AT 801 exposure vote on
July 2014
ASB agenda
Reporting on Controls at Service Organization
Delayed to include guidance from AAG
One section not being clarified:
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis (AT 701
)
Will remain unclarified
One section moving and being replaced
An
Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Its Financial Statements (AT 501)
Will be moved to auditing
standards
Will be replaced by generic AT 501 examination standard on internal controlSlide11
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Final clarified SSAE will contain all attestation standards
One
SSAE (SSAE No. 18) even though more than one exposure draft
Expected issuance in
second half
of 2015 (estimate)
Proposed effective date (estimate):
No earlier than for reports dated
December 15
, 2015Slide12
Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Exposure
drafts
http://www.aicpa.org/Research/ExposureDrafts/AccountingandAuditing/Pages/ExposureDrafts_ASB.aspx
More information
Dedicated ASB Attest Clarity page on AICPA Website at
http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/FRC/AuditAttest/Pages/AttestClarityProject.aspx