[studysled]

There are some older threads on this, but I was still confused…

My understanding is:

1) Audit is both Assurance and Attestation.

2) Reviews are both Assurance and Attestation.

3) Compilations are Attestation only.

4) Audit is a subset of Attestation. Attestation is a subset of Assurance.

5) HOWEVER, since Compilations are ONLY Attestation, they are exception to #5 above. Which I found to be very confusing. Generally, all Attestations are Assurance, except for Compilations apparently.

Anyway, that is my current understanding. Please feel free to add or comment.

[GrumpiestMage22]

My understanding is that all engagements are Attest engagements as you are Attesting to management assertions. Assurance means that you are actually digging into the numbers to provide reasonable assurance on management's assertions. Since compilations are only compiling financials, you do not provide any assurance that they are correct. An audit is the most extensive form of Assurance that you can provide. From my understanding, all Assurance engagements are Attest engagements, but all Attest engagements are not Assurance engagements because comps are Attest only. So yes, what you said was correct, I just phrased it a different way.

[studysled]

“From my understanding, all Assurance engagements are Attest engagements”

I disagree with this statement….it seems to be a confusing point. I believe the opposite is true.

It seems as though all Attestation engagements are Assurance engagements…with the exception of Compilations, which are Attestation only (another confusing point).

I found this summary while researching online, and it seems pretty solid, even though it doesn't mention Compilations or Reviews:

1)An assurance service is an independent professional service to improve the quality of information for decision makers.

2)An attestation service is a form of assurance service in which the CPA firm issues a report about the reliability of an assertion that is the responsibility of another party.

3)Audit services are a form of attestation service in which the auditor expresses a written conclusion about the degree of correspondence between information and established criteria. The most common form of audit service is an audit of historical financial statements, in which the auditor expresses a conclusion as to whether the financial statements are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.

[Hank Scorpio]

The way I remember that a compilation is an attest and not assurance is that the accountant provides no assurance on the report. With a review, the accountant provides limited assurance. In all instances, the auditor/accountant provides some form of attest work, right?

FAR - 10/3/16
BEC - 69 - 10/31/16
AUD - November 2016
REG - December 2016

[Author]

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