3 Auditing and Attestation [Paperback]

Vincent W. Lambers (Author), Richard Delgaudio (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1892115654 | ISBN-13: 978-1892115652 | Publication Date: March 2004

CPA Exam 2004: This book covers auditing topics on the new computer based CPA Exam. Inside you will find review material, examples and practice questions with solutions.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

ATTESTATION STANDARDS—SSAE No. 10, Section 101

I. Applies to both public and non-public entities.

II. Attestation Engagement Defined—An engagement that must have the following three elements:
1. A practitioner is engaged to issue or does issue a written communication.
2. The written communication expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion made by a party on certain subject matter or directly on the presentation of the subject matter itself.
3. The practitioner’s report and the written assertion is or is reasonably expected to be used by a third party.

III. Levels of attestation:
1. Positive Assurance—Reports that express conclusions on the basis of an "examination".
2. Negative Assurance—Reports that express conclusions on the basis of a review.
3. Reporting on the application of agreed-upon procedures.

IV. Examples of attestation engagements:
• Descriptions of the internal control structure.
• Descriptions of computer software.
• Compliance with statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements.
• Investment performance statistics.
• Information supplementary to financial statements.

V. Types of engagements that are not considered to be attest engagements:
• Auditing, reviewing or compiling historical financial statements.
• Management consulting engagements in which the practitioner is engaged to provide advice or recommendations to a client.
• Engagements in which the practitioner is engaged to advocate a client's position (e.g., tax matters under review by the IRS).
• Tax preparation or tax advice engagements.
• Engagements in which the practitioner's role is solely to assist the client, for example:
• Acting as the company accountant in preparing information other than financial statements.
• Serving as an expert witness.
• Providing an expert opinion on certain points of principle, such as the application of tax laws or accounting standards, based on facts provided by another party (so long as the expert opinion does not express a conclusion about the reliability of the facts provided by the other party).

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Lambers Pubns (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892115654
• ISBN-13: 978-1892115652
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,983,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)