When a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the practice of public accounting performs an attest engagement, as defined below, the engagement is subject to the AICPA Attestation Standards and related Interpretive Commentary and to any other Authoritative Interpretive Standards that apply to the particular engagement.

An Attest Engagement is one in which a CPA is engaged to issue or does issue a written communication that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion that is the responsibility of another party.

Examples of professional services typically provided by practitioners that would not be considered attest engagements include---

• Management Consulting Engagements in which the CPA is engaged to provide advice or recommendations to a client

• Engagements in which the CPA is engaged to advocate a client's position-for example, tax matters being reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• Engagements in which a CPA is engaged to prepare tax returns or provide tax advice

• Tax engagements in which a CPA compiles financial statements because he or she is not required to examine or review any evidence supporting the
information furnished by the client and does not express any conclusion on its reliability

• Engagements in which the CPA role is to solely assist the client-for example, acting as the company accountant in preparing other than financial statements

• Engagements in which a CPA is engaged to testify as an expert witness in accounting, auditing, taxation or other matters, given certain stipulated facts

• Engagements in which a CPA is engaged to provide an expert opinion on certain points of principle, such as the application of tax laws or Accounting Standards, given specific facts provided by another party so long as the expert opinion does not express an conclusion about reliability of the facts provided by another party

GENERAL STANDARDS:

No. 1 - The engagement shall be performed by a CPA or CPAs having adequate technical training and proficiency in the attest function

No. 2. - The engagement shall be performed by a CPA or CPAs having adequate knowledge in the subject matter of the assertion

No. 3 - The CPA shall perform an engagement only if he or she has reason to believe that the following two conditions exist:

• The assertion is capable of evaluation against reasonable criteria that either have been established by a recognized body or are stated in the assertion in a sufficiently clear comprehensive manner for a knowledgeable reader to be able to understand them

• The assertion is capable of reasonably consistent estimation or measurement using such criteria

No. 4 - In all matters relating to the engagements, an independence in mental attitude shall be maintained by the CPA or CPAs.

No. 5 - Due professional care shall be exercised in the planning and performance of the engagement.

STANDARD OF FIELDWORK:

No. 1 - The work shall be adequately planned and assistants, if any, shall be properly supervised.

No. 2 - Sufficient evidence shall be obtained to provide reasonable basis for the conclusion that is expressed in the Accountant's Report.

STANDARD OF REPORTING:

No. 1 - The report shall identify the assertion being reported on and state the character of the engagement.

No. 2 - The report shall state the CPAs conclusion about the reliability of the assertion based on the established or stated criteria against which it was measured.

No. 3 - The report shall state all of the CPAs significant reservations about the engagement and the assertion.

No. 4 - The report on an engagement to evaluate an assertion that has been prepared based on agreed-upon criteria or an engagement to apply agreed-upon procedures should contain a statement limiting its use to the parties who have agreed upon such criteria or procedures