About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

D09459 1 (2014-12-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadqva0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 December 18, 2014 Ms. Sharon Macey Audit and Attest Standards American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036-8775 AICPA Proposed Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements: Reporting on an Examination of Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to User Entities' Internal Control Over Financial Reporting: Clarification and Recodification Dear Ms. Macey: This letter provides the U.S. Government Accountability Office's comments on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) exposure draft on examining controls at service organizations. We support the AICPA's efforts to clarify the attestation standards regarding examining controls at service organizations. We are providing comments on the application of the definition of fraud to service organization audits, proposed language relating to intentional acts, and on enhancing practitioners' consideration of fraud during a service organization audit. Definition of Fraud As we considered how the definition of fraud proposed in Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements would apply to an examination of controls at a service organization, we observed that the definition may not sufficiently clarify the parties to which it applies. The exposure draft of Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements defines fraud as an intentional act involving the use of deception that results in a misstatement on the subject matter or the assertion. We understand that this chapter is still in draft form. We believe that the clarified attestation standards as a whole would benefit from a definition that indicates whether fraud includes fraud committed by third parties. Such an indication would provide valuable assistance to practitioners, including service auditors, as they plan and perform procedures related to fraud. We encourage the AICPA to consider revising the definition accordingly. Intentional Acts and Fraud Given the proposed requirements relating to the practitioner's consideration of fraud in the proposed chapter Examination Engagements, we believe that the AICPA should consider whether intentional acts as discussed in the Examination of Controls at a Service Organization exposure draft should be referred to as fraud. According to paragraph 8.A39, the risks and control objectives related to service organization controls encompass Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most