In addition to assurance services, BCS also provides reviews, compilations, and Agreed Upon Procedures. Not all entities require a full audit, and privately held companies can choose one of these more cost-effective services, depending on the requirements of their lenders.

REVIEW

• Based on the accountant’s review, the accountant is not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial statements.
• The accountant will perform analytical procedures and inquiries that will provide a reasonable basis for obtaining limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements.
• A review does not contemplate obtaining an understanding of the entity’s internal controls, assessing fraud risk, testing accounting records or other procedures normally performed in an audit.
• The CPA issues a report stating the review was performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS); that management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework and for designing, implementing and maintaining internal controls relevant to the preparation.
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COMPILATION

• The most basic level of service CPAs provide with respect to financial statements.
• The accountant assists management in presenting financial information in the form of financial statements without undertaking to obtain or provide any assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements.
• The CPA must comply with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARSs), which require the accountant to have an understanding of the industry in which the client operates, obtain knowledge about the client, and read the financial statements and consider whether such financial statements appear appropriate in form and free from obvious material errors.
• A compilation does not contemplate performing inquiry, analytical procedures, or other procedures ordinarily performed in a review.
• The CPA issues a report stating the compilation was performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services; and that the accountant has not audited or reviewed the financial statements and accordingly does not express an opinion or provide any assurance about whether the financial statements are in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
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AGREED UPON PROCEDURES (AUP)

BCS performs various AUP engagements for our clients. In an AUP engagement, the client engages an accountant to issue a report of findings based on specific procedures performed on a subject.