[ipasscpa]

Hello,

The controller has reached out to me from a prior company where I worked in 2011 to see if I can Audit their books for this year. I am a CPA with no audit experience and according to AU Section 210, “The auditor must have adequate technical training and proficiency to perform the audit”. My question is how likely is that I can audit a client with the text book knowledge and no actual experience? Am I putting my CPA license on risk if I sign up for this engagement?

I live in Northern Virginia and if any auditor out there is interested to partner with me on this, please let me know. Just to clarify, I registered the company for the CPA firm License.

Thank you all for your help.

CPA- VA

[FIFOisbetterthanLIFO]

I don't know that it is a good idea, but I don't think it would be an act discreditable. How many years of experience do you have in the real world and doing what type of work? How long have you had your CPA license? Why is he switching auditors? Does he think that he might be able to get the audit report out of you that he wants since he knows you?

Also, not all auditors have the technical training and proficiency to do any audit in any industry. It really depends on the company's complexity. You would be 100% better off partnering with someone who had professional audit experience.

FAR - Passed (82)
BEC - Passed (76)
AUD - Passed (89)
REG - Passed! (81)
AICPA Ethics

Licensed CPA

[acamp]

I don't understand, you have zero audit experience and you are thinking about performing an entire audit on your own?!

I have a CPA license, but you won't find me trying to do complicated taxes (because I have zero experience in that area).

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[ipasscpa]

Thank you both for your responses. I am pretty sure I won't do it if I don't find help along the way since my experience is strictly corporate accounting.

CPA- VA

[marqzho]

Don't know if this will vary state to state. In CA, you can't sign reports on attest engagements without 500 hours attest service experience. Of course you can perform an audit, people without CPA license is performing attest service every day. You just can't sign off on it.

IMO BTW:)

REG 90
FAR 95
AUD 98
BEC 84

[Hammer]

You're crazy to even think you'd be able to do it. Don't set your self up for that type of exposure. I can see about 10,000 scenarios that all end up with you being sued.

FAR - 70, 81
AUD - 83
BEC - 77
REG - 70, 78

Licensed in Ohio.

Now what the hell do I do?

[Missy]

Just say thanks but no thanks. Its not about jeopardizing your license but the controller has to have some idea that you have no audit experience whatsoever which leads one to ask WHY would they reach out to you? Two reasons, first and most likely they figure you'd be in and out faster because you already know so much about them. In my opinion, NOT a good reason to let someone with no audit experience come in. I mean I've been driving my car for years, doesn't mean I should take apart the engine on my own.

The second and somewhat more dubious explanation is that they are hoping you might not be as thorough as someone who does this all the time.

Is this their first audit ever? Or do they figure they can use you for a couple hundred to do what a firm might charge over 10k to do?

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Tncincy]

Well I would say no thanks, because you can't sign off…..but I would ask to be involved with another cpa firm that will take the audit for the experience. So the next go round you can have a little experience and know a little more of what to expect.
I ask another firm if I could work with them on an audit so I could have a full license. It don't hurt to ask, but I would turn down the individual offer.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[ipasscpa]

Thank you all for your responses and I agree, this is not something I should put myself into.


@tncincy Thank you for your advice. I was thinking to do the same, but rather than another firm, I thought if I can find an experienced auditor who can guide me through the process.

CPA- VA

[Anonymous]

mla said exactly what I thought when I read it: “the controller has to have some idea that you have no audit experience whatsoever which leads one to ask WHY would they reach out to you?” What's the motive – especially as a one-year thing? “Oh shoot, we really screwed up this year…heeeeeey, ipasscpa is a CPA now, but doesn't do audits, he might not notice”?

Only thing I really have to contribute that hasn't already been said:
In some/many states, I believe you have to be registered with the Board in some special way specifically to do audits and signed up for peer review etc., or you can get in trouble if they ever find out you did one. I'm not an auditor, so not sure on the specifics, but have read citations against people in board minutes for having done audits without the proper sign-up and peer review stuff (even though they were truly CPAs), and the person's defense was they thought it was OK since they just did a couple, and the Board's response was that if you did any, you had to be subject to all this. Again, since I'm an auditor I don't know much about it, but have seen it in Board judgements so there's some sort of rule requiring some sort of special registration…what it is or what it's called, I don't know, but it's something. (Monikernc posted a link to some board minutes the other day that contained one such ruling; he posted it for something else, but I randomly started scrolling through the minutes…darn him! haha)

[ipasscpa]

@Lilla You are correct about the board requirement and I am complying with that. You need to have a CPA firm license and enrolled in the peer review process before Virginia can issue you the firm license. Regarding the client, I have worked there in 2011 and I have good relationship with them. I am sure there is no incentive of fraud or anything. They just wanted to give me the business since they are aware that I register the firm.

CPA- VA

[Author]

Replies