Auditing, Attestation, and Assurance Paper

Auditing, Attestation, and Assurance Service Paper
ACC/491
December 10, 2012

Auditing, Attestation, and Assurance Service Paper
In this paper Team D will compare and contrast auditing, attestation, and assurance services.   Team D will provide an example of each type of service.   They will also identify who would request each of the three services.   Additionally, team D will discuss what standards apply to each of the services and what governing body establishes those standards.
Example of each service
Attestation services provide written conclusion that certify the reliability of the written information that is to be provided to third parties.   An example of an attestation service is a third-party firm providing a company with a report that will verify the effectiveness of the elements of their internal control systems.  Assurance services improve the quality of the written information that is provided to third party decision makers. A CPA examining the terms of an available loan to ensure that it is accurate and appropriate is an assurance service.  Auditing services evaluate the written information for accuracy, reliability, and honesty. A third party firm assessing financial statements of a corporation to ensure that the information is honest, correct, and intelligible is an auditing service.   The written report of this audit would be considered an attestation service.
Who would request these services?
Requesting such an extensive and sometimes costly service is usually requested from sources such as upper management of a company, government agencies such as the IRS, the New York Stock Exchange, shareholders, and stockholders. These services are requested either because of a scheduled review, possibly annually or bi-annually, or because there are suspicions of fraudulent records or management. The greatest examples that everyone can learn from are the ENRON and WorldCom scandals that shocked the nation back in 2002, costing investors billions of...