Jim Ulvog – Page 87 – Attestation Update

Reports on comparative financial statements under SSARS 19

Leave a Comment / Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

Oops! Looks like I got a little ahead of the professional literature when I drafted samples of comparative review and compilation reports. SSARS 19 does not explicitly address comparative financials.

What’s the issue?

Update – SSARS 19 had been replaced by SSARS 21. The entire body of knowledge has been revised. See:

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Reports on comparative financial statements under SSARS 19Read More »

Reports on comparative financial statements under SSARS 19 Read More »

Documentation of compilation – on one hand and then on the other

Leave a Comment / Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

The discussion of documentation requirements for a compilation under SSARS 19 has an open-ended comment allowing wide lattitude on one hand and specific requirements on the other hand.

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Documentation of compilation – on one hand and then on the otherRead More »

Documentation of compilation – on one hand and then on the other Read More »

Documentation requirements for a compilation under SSARS 19

Leave a Comment / Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

SSARS 19 has specific documentation requirements for compilations and reviews. I will discuss these requirements in a series of posts.

Compilations first. Reviews later.

The overall documentation requirement is that the accountant should prepare documentation in a compilation with sufficient detail to give a clear understanding of the work performed.

Update – SSARS 19 had been replaced by SSARS 21. The entire body of knowledge has been revised. See:

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Documentation requirements for a compilation under SSARS 19Read More »

Documentation requirements for a compilation under SSARS 19 Read More »

In a peer review, you are graded against your quality control document – don’t set the bar so high you cannot meet it

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

CPA firms have a lot of latitude in defining their quality control system. There are basic components that must be addressed, but firms have the ability to define for themselves how to get there.

One think to keep in mind is that during a peer review your firm’s written quality control document (it has to be written by the way) and SQCS 7 will be the criteria against which your firm will be graded. The highest standard set by either of those two documents will be your standard. How could this create a problem for you?

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In a peer review, you are graded against your quality control document – don’t set the bar so high you cannot meet itRead More »

In a peer review, you are graded against your quality control document – don’t set the bar so high you cannot meet it Read More »

Criteria for an engagement quality control review cannot be that you feel like it

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

SQCS 7 requires CPA firms to define the criteria for an engagement quality control review. I discussed that here.

The criteria have to be objective. …

Criteria for an engagement quality control review cannot be that you feel like itRead More »

Criteria for an engagement quality control review cannot be that you feel like it Read More »

How to handle engagement quality control reviews in a small firm

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

SQCS 7 requires a policy for engagement quality control reviews in all CPA firms. There is no size cutoff. However the rules do anticipate great flexibility in establishing the criteria.

It is perfectly appropriate to fine tune the criteria so that a relatively small number of engagements would be selected. How?

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How to handle engagement quality control reviews in a small firmRead More »

How to handle engagement quality control reviews in a small firm Read More »

Always in a jam because of your peer review deadline? Consider changing your year-end.

Leave a Comment / Peer Review / Jim Ulvog

If you find yourself getting into a jam with submitting your peer review report by the deadline it could be due to several possible reasons.

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Always in a jam because of your peer review deadline? Consider changing your year-end.Read More »

Always in a jam because of your peer review deadline? Consider changing your year-end. Read More »

Peer review requires that reviewers maintain independence

Leave a Comment / Peer Review / Jim Ulvog

The rules for peer review have a few requirements to help make sure that a peer reviewer keeps some distance when performing a peer review. In other words, independence is required.

Here are some of the specific situations:

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Peer review requires that reviewers maintain independenceRead More »

Peer review requires that reviewers maintain independence Read More »

Engagement quality control reviews are required for your quality control system under SQCS 7

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews, Peer Review / Jim Ulvog

Under the new rules for a quality control system, CPA firms who have accounting and auditing work (that means any compilations or reviews), must have a policy addressing engagement quality control reviews.

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Engagement quality control reviews are required for your quality control system under SQCS 7Read More »

Engagement quality control reviews are required for your quality control system under SQCS 7 Read More »

Q: Are engagement letters absolutely, positively required for a compilation or review?

Leave a Comment / Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

Three answers, take your choice: short, smart alack, or technical.

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Q: Are engagement letters absolutely, positively required for a compilation or review?Read More »

Q: Are engagement letters absolutely, positively required for a compilation or review? Read More »

Quality control system documentation must be written

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

One of the changes made by SQCS 7 is that the documentation of the quality control system must be in writing.

Previously the extensive documentation depended on the nature of the firm. In a smaller firm with relatively simple procedures it did not necessarily have to be in writing. That has changed. You must have something written down.

How to proceed? Three ideas.

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Quality control system documentation must be writtenRead More »

Quality control system documentation must be written Read More »

One sentence explanation of the difference between audits and reviews

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews / Jim Ulvog

(cross posted from www.ulvog.wordpress.com)

I have discussed the differences between audits, reviews, and compilations here and here. Even developed a visual illustration here. Ask any CPA and you can get a long explanation of the distinctions.

For something shorter, consult this article by Angus Loten in the Wall Street Journal, which said:

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One sentence explanation of the difference between audits and reviewsRead More »

One sentence explanation of the difference between audits and reviews Read More »

Q: How can audits pay for themselves?

Peering forward – trying to figure out the future

Leave a Comment / Other stuff / Jim Ulvog

On my other blog, I have written a series of posts called Peering Forward (okay, okay, that is about all the creativity I can bring to headline writing). The posts have been combined into one page, which you can see here. The discussion is from the perspective of ministries, but many of the ideas are useful for CPAs as well.

Two great tidbits to chew on that I mention in the series:

Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google is quoted as saying that every two days we create as much information as all of humanity created from the dawn of civilization through 2003. (The Kevin Ring article gave the info, TechCrunch verified.)
Ray Kurzweil said in 2001 that “we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).” (comment mentioned in the Ring article.) His point is that technology change is exponential.

Peering forward – trying to figure out the future Read More »