Practice Issues - Compilation and Review Update [Including SSARS Nos. 21-24] - v10 (Course Id 760)

Auditing - Auditing for Course Id 760

The objective of this course is to inform the reader of the various changes made to the compilation and review standards by the AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC), and to address practice issues related to compilation and review engagements.

Chapter I of this course consists of an overview of SSARS No. 21, as amended by SSARS No. 23, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services- 2016, and SSARS No. 24, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services- 2018. The course addresses the three types of engagements that can be performed under the SSARSs: a preparation of financial statements engagement, a compilation engagement, and a review engagement.  The course also discusses SSARS No. 22, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information.

Chapter II consists of practice issues in compilation and review engagements. Topics include a discussion of an accountant’s responsibility for fraud, internal control and going concern, representation letters for review engagements, personal financial statements, tax-basis financial statements, legends on financial statements, accountant’s liability in compilation and review engagements, saving time in engagements, and more. The focus of the course is to identify, recognize and recall the rules pertaining to various pronouncements, including those related to recent developments.

NASBA QAS - Text - Technical - NASBA Registry - 760

Chapter I
SSARS No. 21-24: The Compilation and Review Standards

• Identify some of the changes in SSARS No. 21, as amended by SSARS No. 23, that are, and are not, carried over from auditing standards
• Recognize engagement types that are and are not part of SSARS No. 21
• Recall whether the preparation of financial statements standard is an attest or nonattest service
• Recall what must happen for an accountant to perform a preparation of financial statements engagement
• Recall whether a preparation engagement under AR-C 70 is subject to peer review
• Identify whether a report is required in a preparation of financial statements engagement under AR-C 70
• Recognize what the reporting requirements are, if any, when a "no assurance" legend is omitted from prepared financial statements under the AR-C 70 standards
• Identify where to disclose GAAP departures in a preparation of financial statements engagement
• Recognize whether an accountant and his or her client must sign an engagement letter for a preparation of financial statements engagement under AR-C 70
• Recall the objective of a compilation engagement under AR-C 80 of SSARS No. 21
• Identify how an accountant should report on a disclaimer of supplementary information in a compilation engagement
• Identify requirements to be satisfied to perform a review engagement under AR-C 90
• Identify evidence an accountant should obtain to demonstrate that financial statements reconcile with accounting records
• Recognize an appropriate title that can be used for a review report under SSARS No. 21
• Identify the order in which certain report paragraphs should be placed in the SSARS No. 21 review report
• Recall some of the items that should and should not be documented in a review engagement

Chapter II
Practice Issues

• Identify the reporting options for controllers who seek to issue financial statements
• Recognize the accountant’s responsibility for reporting fraud in compilation and review engagements
• Identify the period of time that defines “reasonable period of time” in going concern
• Identify factors that may or may not suggest there is a potential going-concern problem in a compilation or review engagement
• Recognize the threshold to evaluate an Altman Z Score
• Identify an example of a deferred M-1 that is eliminated by tax-basis financial statements
• Recognize some of the general rules for tax-basis financial statements
• Identify the options available to report on supplementary information in a compilation or review engagement
• Recognize the general disclosure rules when issuing a compilation report on a specified element
• Identify when a management representation letter is required and some general rules pertaining to such letters
• Identify a prescribed form and the options for reporting on personal financial statements
• Recognize some of the recurring deficiencies noted in peer reviews
• Identify examples of simpler reporting options to full GAAP financial statements
• Identify provisions to incorporate into engagement letters to protect the accountant against liability claims
• Recognize the general rules to maintain independence when an accountant performs non-attest services for an attest client
• Identify when independence is impaired in certain situations in which an accountant performs non-attest services for an attest client
• Recognize the privity standard as it relates to the accountant’s liability to third parties

J.  Using Tax-Basis Financial Statements for Engagement Profitability

K.  Miscellaneous Practice Issues

L.  Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Accountants

M.  Selected Information- Substantially All Disclosures Required by Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States of America Are Not Included

N.  Gathering Review Evidence Under SSARS No. 21

Review Questions

O.  Responsibility for Materiality in a Compilation and Review Engagement

P.  Restricting the Use of an Accountant’s Compilation or Review Report

Q.  Reporting of Specified Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement

R.  Management Representation Letter- Review Engagement

S.  Applicability of Auditing Standards to the SSARSs

T.  Reconciling the Financial Statements to the Underlying Accounting Records

Review Questions

Chapter II - Practice Issues - Part 2

A.  Personal Financial Statements and Prescribed Forms

B.  Financial Statements Submitted Electronically

Review Questions

C.  Peer Review Standards

D.  GAAP Hierarchy: Compilation and Review

Review Questions

E.  Simplifying the Reporting Process

F.  Squeezing the Heck Out of a Review Engagement:  The 25-Hour Review

G.  Designing Effective Engagement Letters

H.  Liability to Accountants Who Perform Bookkeeping Services

I.  Risk of Open-Ended and Multi-Year Engagement Letters

J.  Avoid Being Sued and Increase Billing-The Likeability and Communication Factors

K.  Definition of a Financial Statement Versus Trial Balance

L.  Reporting on a Tax Return

M.  Emphasis-of-Matter and Other-Matter Paragraphs in a Compilation Report on Financial Statements That Omit Substantially All Disclosures

Review Questions

N.  Ethics and Independence Rule Changes

O.  Responsibility to Third Parties: The Privity Standard

P.  Providing Records to a “Dead-Beat” Client

Q.  Number of Days Test on Trade Receivables

Review Questions

Glossary