Students may encounter some difficulty with this matching question because the Special Committee on Assurance Services (SCAS) listed many things that heretofore have been considered “attestation services” (long before assurance services were invented). As a result, we believe that this question is a good vehicle for discussing the considerable overlap between attestation and assurance services.
Real estate demand studies: Assurance service
Ballot for awards show: Assurance service
Utility rates applications: Assurance service
Newspaper circulation audits: Assurance service
Third-party reimbursement maximization: Assurance service
Annual financial report to stockholders: Audit service
Rental property operations review: Assurance service
Examination of financial forecasts and projections: Attestation service
Customer satisfaction surveys: Assurance service
Compliance with contractual requirements: Attestation service
Benchmarking/best practices: Assurance service
Evaluation of investment management policies: Assurance service
Information systems security reviews: Assurance service
Productivity statistics: Assurance service
Internal audit strategic review: Assurance service Financial statements submitted to a bank loan officer: Audit service
1.48
Controller as Auditor
When Hughes Corporation hired the CPA, she or he can no longer be considered independent with respect to the annual audit and, as a result, can no longer perform an independent audit of the financial statements. It is true that the in-house CPA can perform all procedural analyses that would be required of an independent audit; however, it is extremely unlikely that the CPA could inspire the confidence of users of financial statements outside the company. Because she or he is no longer independent of the company, the