1. Chapter 01 The Role of the Public Accountant in the American Economy McGraw-Hill/IrwinCopyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Types of Services  Assurance Services Attestation Services Example: Audits of Financial Statements, Examinations of Internal Control Other Assurance Services Example: CPA ElderCare Prime Plus Services  NonAssurance Services Tax Services Management Consulting Services Other 1-2

3. Attestation Services  To attest to information means to provide assurance as to its reliability  Attest engagement: A practitioner is engaged to issue or does issue an examination, a review, or an agreed- upon procedures report on subject matter or an assertion about subject matter that is the responsibility of another party (e.g. management) 1-3

4. Financial Statement Audit  Auditors gather evidence and provide a high level of assurance that the financial statements follow GAAP, or some other appropriate basis of accounting  Audit involves searching and verifying accounting records and examining other documents  Evidence necessary to issue an audit report that states auditors’ opinion 1-4

5. What Creates the Demand for Audits?  Audits lend credibility to information by reducing information risk, the risk that information is materially misstated  Financial statement misstatements arise due to-- Accidental errors Lack of knowledge of accounting principles Unintentional bias Deliberate falsification  Audits do not directly address business risk, the risk that a company will not be able to meet its financial obligations due to economic conditions or poor management decisions 1-5

6. Financial Audits  Audit of the financial statements of an entity Covers the balance sheet and related statements of income, retained earnings and cash flows Goal is to determine if prepared in conformity with GAAP Performed by CPAs Users include management, investors, bankers, creditors, financial analysts, government agencies 1-6

7. Other Types of Audits  Compliance Audits Example: IRS audit of income tax return  Operational Audits Example: Effectiveness of operations of receiving department of a manufacturing company  Integrated Audits Example: Assurance on both the financial statements and effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting 1-7

8. Internal Auditors  Employed by a company as an employee  They often perform operational and compliance audits address internal control report to the audit committee of the board of directors and to the president  The Institute of Internal Auditors is the international organization of internal auditors. 1-8

9. Government Accountability Office Auditors (GAO Auditors)  Headed by the comptroller general  Responsibility of supporting Congress  Perform Compliance, operational and financial audits of government agencies Examinations of corporations holding government contracts to verify contract payments have been proper 1-9

10. Tax Auditors  Responsible for enforcement of tax laws of various sorts (e.g., state and federal income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes)  Internal revenue agents generally perform compliance audits of income tax returns 1-10

11. AICPA’s Traditional Role  Establish Standards  Research and Publication  Continuing Professional Education  Self-Regulation Note: Much of the standards setting and regulation roles relating to public companies (referred to as “issuers”) has been taken over by the SEC and the PCAOB. 1-11

12. The CPA Examination  Uniform national examination prepared and graded by the AICPA  Computerized exam includes multiple choice and simulations in four parts Auditing and Attestation Financial Accounting & Reporting Regulation Business Environment & Concepts 1-12

13. Other Parties  FASB Sets GAAP for entities other than federal, state and local governments  GASB Standards of financial accounting for state and local government entities  FASAB Accounting standards for the US government 1-13

14. PCAOB Role  Adopt auditing, attestation, quality control, ethics and independence standards relating to the preparation of audit reports for SEC registrants  Oversee and discipline CPAs and CPA firms that audit public companies, including Register firms Perform inspections of firms Conduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings of firms Sanction registered firms 1-14

15. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  Agency of the US government  Oversight responsibility for the PCAOB  Objectives Protect investors and public by requiring full disclosure of financial information by companies offering securities for sale to the public Prevent misrepresentation, deceit, or other fraud in the sale of securities 1-15

16. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC )  Registration statements Qualify securities for sales Contains audited financial statements Makes SEC major user of financial statements  Protects investors  Regulation S-X Basic accounting regulation 1-16

17. Types of Professional Services  Attestation and Assurance  Tax  Consulting  Accounting  Personal Financial Planning  Litigation support  Fraud Investigation  Personal Financial Planning 1-17

18. Organization of the Public Accounting Profession  Sole proprietorship  Partnerships  Professional Corporation  Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)  Limited Liability Company (LLC) 1-18

19. Responsibilities on an Engagement  Partner—Overall responsibility is to assure that that audit is performed in accordance with professional standards.  Manager—Supervise overall engagement.  Seniors—”In charge” auditor on a daily basis.  Staff assistants—Work under the immediate supervision of the senior. 1-19