Explain the relationships among audit services, attestation services, and other assurance and non assurance services provided by CPAs.

THE AUDITING PROFESSION

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1-16 (OBJECTIVE 1-5) The list below indicates various audit, attestation, and other engagements involving auditors.

1. A report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act.
2. An examination report on whether a company’s statement of greenhouse gas emissions is presented in conformity with standards issued by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute.
3. An auditor’s report on whether the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
4. An engagement to help a company structure a merger transaction to minimize the taxes of the combined entities.
5. A report stating whether the company has complied with restrictive covenants related to officer compensation and payment of dividends contained in a bank loan agreement.
6. A report on the effectiveness of internal controls at a company that provides payroll processing for other companies.
7. A review report that provides limited assurance about whether financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
8. An evaluation of the voting process and certification of the outcome for Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Greatest Singer of All Time” poll.
9. A report indicating whether a governmental entity has complied with certain government regulations.
10. A report about management’s assertion on the effectiveness of controls over the availability, reliability, integrity, and maintainability of its accounting information system.

11. An evaluation of the effectiveness of key measures used to assess an entity’s success in achieving specific targets linked to an entity’s strategic plan and vision.
a. Explain the relationships among audit services, attestation services, and other assurance and nonassurance services provided by CPAs.
b. For each of the services listed above, indicate the type of service from the list that follows.
(1) An audit of historical financial statements
(2) An attestation service other than an audit service
(3) An assurance or nonassurance service that is not an attestation service