Nonattest services toolkit (2024)

FAQs

What are examples of Nonattest services? ›

Some commonly cited examples include tax return preparation, financial statement preparation, bookkeeping, certain forensic accounting services, including investigative and some types of litigation services, and appraisal, valuation, and actuarial services.

On the other hand, non-attest services cover a broad spectrum of accounting tasks that do not involve providing assurance or comparing data to a set of controls. These services may include bookkeeping, tax preparation, and consulting.

When a member performs non attest services for an attest client, management is required to designate an individual to oversee those services.

A CPA's independence can be compromised if they take on a managerial or decision-making position within an attest client's organization. This creates a conflict of interest as the CPA is no longer acting as an objective and impartial advisor, but rather as a member of the client's management team.

Expert-Verified Answer. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), attest clients are prohibited from receiving certain nonattest services from their auditing firm. These include financial information systems design and installation, actuarial services, and assurance services and other attest services.

In order of increasing level of rigor, accountants generally offer three types of assurance services: compilations, reviews and audits.

Although a compilation is not an assurance engagement, it is an attest engagement. "Scope and Applicability of Nonattest Services" interpretation (ET sec. 1.295.

Three main types are external audits, internal audits, and IRS audits. An auditor is a person authorized to review and verify the accuracy of business records and ensure compliance with tax laws.

You and your firm are not required to be independent to perform services that are not attest services (for example, financial statement preparation, tax preparation or advice, or consulting services, such as personal financial planning) if they are the only services your firm provides for a client.

What is the difference between audit and attest services? ›

One of the things to keep in mind to differentiate each of these services is that audits are performed to discover data, risks, or compliance issues that may not have been known before the audit took place, and attestation is to evaluate and review how true the data or information is when compared to a stated purpose, ...

01 of the “General Requirements for Performing Nonattest Services” interpretation requires that, before performing nonattest services for an attest client the member should establish and document in writing his or her understanding with the attest client regarding the (i) objectives of the engagement, (ii) services to ...

In basic terms, nonattest services are not related to the performance of an attest engagement, where an attest engagement is one requiring independence within certain bodies of technical standards included in the overarching AICPA Professional Standards: specifically, standards related to auditing, accounting and ...

Under the revised "Client Affiliates" interpretation, firms may enter into staff augmentation arrangements with certain affiliates of a financial statement attest client (FSAC).

Any nonattest services that make him a part of management decisions would be considered a threat to this independence. From the provided options, Option B: Serving in an advisory role regarding the strategic direction for the client would be the service that creates a significant threat to independence.

In an attest service, the practitioner expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion that is the responsibility of another party, the asserter. In a consulting service, the practi- tioner develops the findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented.