>Joanne M. Flood
Wiley Practitioner's Guide to GAAS 2017
If you did, it's important for you to become a subscriber. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. may publish, on a periodic basis, supplements and new editions to reflect the latest changes in the subject matter that you need to know in order stay competitive in this ever-changing industry. By contacting the Wiley office nearest you, you'll receive any current update at no additional charge. In addition, you'll receive future updates and revised or related volumes on a thirty-day examination review.
If you purchased this product directly from John Wiley & Sons, Inc., we have already recorded your subscription for this update service.
To become a subscriber, please call 1-877-762-2974 or send your name, company name (if applicable), address, and the title of the product to
For customers outside the United States, please contact the Wiley office nearest you:
Copyright © 1992 through 2016 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.
The book contains numerous excerpts taken from the Statements on Auditing Standards, the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements, and the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services, and interpretations of these statements. These are noted by reference to the specific standard or AICPA Codification section, except for definitions which appear under a separate heading at the beginning of each section. These standards are copyrighted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. and reprinted with permission of the AICPA.
This book contains definitions taken from Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts 2, Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information; and Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts 7, Using Cash Flow Information and Present Value in Accounting Measurements, which are copyrighted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, 401 Merritt 7, PO Box 5116, Norwalk, Connecticut 06856-5116, USA. Portions are reprinted with permission. Complete copies of these documents are available from the FASB.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care
Department within the US at 800-762-2974, outside the US at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our website at www.wiley.com.
ISBN 978-1-119-37377-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-119-37375-9 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-119-37369-8 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-119-37380-3 (ebk)
PREFACE
Auditing Standards
Following the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board (ASB) reassessed its mission. The ASB developed a plan to converge US generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). Thus, the ASB's clarity project began work to:
● Redraft the auditing standards for clarity – to make the standards easier to read, understand, and apply
● Converge US standards with the ISAs
The ASB has completed its project. While clarity and convergence, not change, were the goals of the clarity project, the project did create some changes that require auditors to make changes in practice. For ease of use, this book arranges information according to the sections of the AICPA's auditing standards codification.
Preparation, Compilation, and Review Standards
In May 2010, the AICPA's Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) approved a clarity project with the purpose of aligning the conventions of its standards with the ASB standards and making the compilation and review standards easier to read, understand, and apply. One divergence from the ASB approach is that the ARSC decided not to include application guidance for governmental and smaller, less complex entities. Otherwise, the formats are similar and include:
● Objectives– define the context in which the requirements are set
● Definitions– explain, where relevant, specific terms
● Requirements– what the practitioners must do to meet the objectives of the standard
● Application and other explanatory matters– provide further guidance for carrying out the requirements of the standard. These paragraphs use an “A” prefix and are in a separate section that follows the requirements section.
As a result of the ARSC clarity project, a new section identifier, “AR-C,” was established for the clarified standards in order to avoid confusion with references to the extant “AR” sections.
SSARS
