Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
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Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, or GAAS, are ten auditing standards, developed by the AICPA, consisting of general standards, standards of field work, and standards of reporting, along with interpretations. They were developed by the AICPA in 1947 and have undergone minor changes since then.
The GAAS are as follows:
Contents |
[edit] General Standards
- The audit is to be performed by a person or persons having adequate technical training and proficiency as an auditor.
- In all matters relating to the assignment, an independence in mental attitude is to be maintained by the auditor or auditors.
- Due professional care is to be exercised in the planning and performance of the audit and the preparation of the report.
[edit] Standards of Field Work
- The work is to be adequately planned and assistants, if any, are to be properly supervised. SAS 108 revised this standard: "The auditor must adequately plan the work and must properly supervise any assistants"
- A sufficient understanding of internal control is to be obtained to plan the audit and to determine the nature, timing, and extent of tests to be performed. SAS 109 revised this standard as follows: "The auditor must obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and its environment, including its internal control, to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements whether due to error or fraud, and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures."
- Sufficient competent evidential matter is to be obtained through inspection, observation, inquiries, and confirmations to afford a reasonable basis for an opinion regarding the financial statements under audit. SAS 106 revised this standard: "The auditor must obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence by performing audit procedures to afford a reasonable basis for an opinion regarding the financial statements under audit."
The new standards are in effect for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2006.
[edit] Standards of Reporting
- The report shall state whether the financial statements are presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
- The report shall identify those circumstances in which such principles have not been consistently observed in the current period in relation to the preceding period.
- Informative disclosures in the financial statements are to be regarded as reasonably adequate unless otherwise stated in the report.
- The report shall either contain an expression of opinion regarding the financial statements, taken as a whole, or an assertion to the effect that an opinion cannot be expressed. When an overall opinion cannot be expressed, the reasons therefor should be stated. In all cases where an auditor's name is associated with financial statements, the report should contain a clear-cut indication of the character of the auditor's work, if any, and the degree of responsibility the auditor is taking.
