I have a post at my other blog, Nonprofit Update which provides an analogy to illustrate the differences between the levels of attestation services provided by CPAs:
Evaluating a used car as an illustration of the differences between compilation, review, and audit
The analogy compares three different ways to figure out the quality of a car. I suggest each of those ways is similar to a level of service. Here’s the conclusion:
- Look at the car from across the street – very low cost for low quality information – compilation
- Look around inside in the car and drive it around the block – moderate cost for better information – review
- Have a mechanic work it over – highest cost in terms of time and money but the best information on the quality of the car – audit
Check out the full post for more details on the analogy.