1. Washington, D.C. For the people in government, rather than the people who pester it, Washington is an early-rising, hard- working city. It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money. –P. J. O’Rourke

2. Other Accounting Services

3. Attestation & Assurance Services  Compliance  Unaudited Financial Statements  Internal Control Reporting  Interim Financial Information  Prospective Financial Statements  New Services

4. Attestation  AICPA Statement on Attestation Standards –“Attestation results in a written communication that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion that is the responsibility of another party” –Positive assurance: conclusion based on an examination which provides positive, but not absolute assurance. –Negative Assurance: conclusion based on a review which provides negative, and limited, assurance

5. Attestation Preconditions  Practitioner is independent and has adequate training & proficiency as well as subject matter knowledge  Reasonable measurement and disclosure criteria exist  The assertions are susceptible to reasonably consistent estimation or measurement using the criteria

6. Attestation vs. Auditing Standards  Internal Control usually not relevant  GAAP not relevant  Identity of Assertions & the nature of the engagement  Distribution restrictions  TABLE 15.5 (pp. 651-52)

7. Compliance Attestation  May be Audits  More often apply “agreed upon procedures”  Laws & Regulations –FDIC –EPA –Dept. of Education, Agriculture, etc.

8. Unaudited Financial Statements: Public Companies  CPA should disclaim an opinion (unaudited) when: –CPA’s name is used –CPA has prepared or assisted in preparing the statements  “The accompanying balance sheet and related statements of...were not audited by us and, accordingly, we do not express an opinion on them”

9. Compilation & Reviews: Nonpublic Companies  Compilation –Prepare financial statements based upon client supplied data  Review –More than a compilation, less than an audit –Consists of inquiry & analytic procedures –Excludes internal control evaluation, confirmations, & other tests

10. Prospective Financial Statements  CPA compiles, examines, or applies agreed upon procedures to prospective financial statements: –Forecast: expected financial position, results of operations, and cash flow reflecting conditions expected to exist –Projection: financial position, income, and cash flows, under hypothetical assumptions.

11. New Services  Other Applications Are Being Created in the Competitive Marketplace  Examples: –AICPA Web Trust –Gambling Industry Certifications –Eldercare Certifications & Services

12. Financial Statement Attestation Services