Level of Assurance

The level of assurance to be expressed in the accountant’s report determines the level of service to be provided. The following discussion is from the highest to the lowest level of assurance expressed in the report.

Attestation Engagements

An attestation engagement is a type of engagement in which the accountant provides a report as to whether an assertion by management has been prepared in conformity with the appropriate criteria. These engagements are less in scope than an audit, in which the auditor provides an opinion on the financial statements. Agreed Upon Procedure Engagements & Reviewed Financial Statements are considered Attestation Engagements.

Agreed Upon Procedure Engagements

As the name implies, the report is based on procedures that have been mutually agreed upon by our firm and management. The report is only available to be distributed to parties that were identified and agreed upon by management and us. Professional standards define and required our firm to be independent of management.

Review of Financial Statements

The Accountant’s Review Report is intended to provide lenders and other outside parties with a basic level of assurance on the accuracy of the financial statements. Professional standards define and required our firm to be independent of management. They also require the accountant to perform inquiries and analytical procedures that provide the accountant with a reasonable basis for expressing limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the statements for them to be in conformity with the stated basis of accounting. A reviewed statement must include footnote disclosures.

Non-Attestation Engagements

These engagements provide no assurance related to the financial statements presented.

Compilation of Financials Statements

Accounting standards define a compiled financial statement as presenting, in the form of financial statements, information that is the representation of management or the owners without undertaking to express any assurance on the statements. A compiled statement may be issued with or without footnotes. We are not required to be independent of management to issue a compiled statement. However, our lack on independence must be disclosed in our report.

Preparation of Financial Statements

We may be engaged to prepare financial statements for our clients. These financial statements may not be distributed to third parties and do not require an accountants letter to be attached. However, the financial statements will include a disclosure stating they are issued without any assurance provided. These financial statements are designed to be utilized as a management tool. Under current professional standards, this is the lowest form of service related to financial statements allowed by our firm.