Statements on Standards
for Attestation
Engagements
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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) engagements
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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 Engagements
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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)
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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, agreedupon 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 chapters
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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, Forecasts
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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
Emissions
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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 Prospectus
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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 Attestation
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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 control
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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, 2015
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Clarifying the Attestation Standards
Exposure drafts
http://www.aicpa.org/Research/ExposureDrafts/AccountingandAudi
ting/Pages/ExposureDrafts_ASB.aspx
More information
Dedicated ASB Attest Clarity page on AICPA Website at
http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/FRC/AuditAttest/Pages/AttestCl
arityProject.aspx
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