In an engagement to perform agreed-upon procedures, an auditor is engaged to carry out those procedures of an audit nature to which the auditor and the entity and any appropriate third parties have agreed and to report on factual findings. The recipients of the report must form their own conclusions from the report by the auditor. The report is restricted to those parties that have agreed to the procedures to be performed since others, unaware of the reasons for the procedures, may misinterpret the results.
Auditor’s Association with Financial Information
An auditor is associated with financial information when the auditor attaches a report to that information or consents to the use of the auditor’s name in a professional connection. If the auditor is not associated in this manner, third parties can assume no responsibility of the auditor. If the auditor learns that an entity is inappropriately using the auditor’s name in association with financial information, the auditor would require management to cease doing so and consider what further steps, if any, need to be taken, such as informing any regulatory authority and/or known third party users of the information of the inappropriate use of the auditor’s name in connection with the information. The auditor may, if necessary, take other action, for example, seeking legal advice.
A major development in the field of auditing has been the issuance of revised and /or redrafted International Standards on Auditing pursuant to the Clarity Project of IAASB. The objective of this project is to improve the clarity of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). The IAASB aims to set high quality international auditing and assurance standards that are understandable, clear and capable of consistent application, thereby serving to enhance the quality and uniformity of practice worldwide. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has also laid out a strategy to match step with the IAASB Clarity Project. In the year 2007, the Board issued several revised/new Standards pursuant to the IAASB Clarity Project.