Audit and Other Accounting Services

THE OVERVIEW:

Reporting On Financial Performance

Almost every organization – whether it’s a privately held business, a publicly owned corporation, or a nonprofit organization – must prepare reports on its financial performance. Such reports help owners and managers make operating decisions, enable creditors to evaluate loan applications, and provide individuals with information to make investment decisions. The accounting profession recognizes that entities have different accounting needs and has developed standards to enable only CPAs to offer a range of financial statement services.

Diverse Accounting Services For Diverse Needs

FGA Professionals can provide customers with three distinct services involving financial statements. Each is designed to meet a different need.

A compilation is useful to small, privately held companies that need help in preparing their financial statements. 

FGA prepares financial statements from information provided by management.

A compilation is useful when limited in-house capabilities for preparing financial statements exist.

A review, on the other hand, may be adequate for entities that must report their financial positions to third parties, such as creditors or regulatory agencies. Reviewed financial statements may also be useful to business owners who are not actively involved in managing their companies.

FGA applies inquiry and analytical procedures to financial statements provided by management to determine if they are reasonable.

A review provides limited assurance that no material changes need to be made to the financial statements.

An audit is the third and most extensive service. An Audit is appropriate for businesses that must offer a higher level of assurance to outside parties. An unqualified opinion from a CPA after an audit provides reasonable assurance to outside parties that the entity’s financial statements fairly present its financial positions and results of operation in accordance with certain accounting principles.

FGA examines financial statements by conferring with outside parties, completing physical inspections and observations, and testing selected transactions by examining supporting documents.

An Audit provides the highest level of assurance that the financial statements fairly represent the entity’s financial positions and results of operation in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.