“Assurance Services” is the new name for the traditional areas of audit and accounting that chartered accountants have always been involved with.
When you are giving consideration to utilizing the services of a chartered accountant to prepare your financial statements, you will need to consider who the users of the financial statements are in order to determine what level of assurance you require from us.
The top, and most expensive, level of assurance that we provide is called an “audit”. An audit gives reasonable, although not absolute certainty that the financial statements of your business, which normally includes your balance sheet and statement of income, is fairly presented.
Public companies, generally without exception, require an audit. Many charities and not-for-profit organizations are audited. This is because their financial statements are circulated widely to the public and the audit gives creditability to the financial statements for the donors.
The least form of assurance that we give is called a “compilation”. A compilation is the least expensive and only requires us to compile your financial statements from information that you provide and the only criteria is for us to ensure that the financial information is not misleading. Compilation engagements would typically be used for very small proprietorships and companies where there are no banking requirements and perhaps a financial statement is required for inclusion in a tax return.
In between the two, and what many businesses opt for today, is called a “review”. A review fits in between the audit and the compilation. The review report that we attach to your statements would say that we have not done an audit, but that nothing has come to our attention that the financial statements are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Many bankers will accept this form of report today as an alternative to the audit. Often we have been able to convince banks to go this route, rather than an audit, and save money for our clients.
We would be pleased to discuss your accounting or auditing requirements with you on a case-by-case basis so you are able to be well informed in order to make the decision that is best for you and your company.
