Preparation of Financial Statements 4217 AR-C Section 70 Preparation of Financial Statements Source: SSARS No. 21; SSARS No. 23; SSARS No. 25. Effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods end- ing on or after December 15, 2015, unless otherwise indicated. Introduction Scope of This Section .01 This section applies when an accountant in public practice is engaged to prepare financial statements or prospective financial information. (Ref: par. .A1–.A2). This section may also be applied, adapted as appropriate in the circumstances, to the preparation of other historical financial information. (Ref: par. .A3) This section does not apply when an accountant prepares financial statements or prospective financial information • and is engaged to perform an audit, review,or compilation of those financial statements, • solely for submission to taxing authorities, • for inclusion in written personal financial plans prepared by the accountant, • in conjunction with litigation services that involve pending or po- tential legal or regulatory proceedings, or • in conjunction with business valuation services.[1] [As amended, effective for prospective financial information prepared on or af- ter May 1, 2017, by SSARS No. 23.] .02 The determination about whether the accountant has been engaged to prepare financial statements or merely assist in preparing financial statements (which is a bookkeeping service that is not subject to this section) is determined based on services the client requests the accountant to perform and requires the accountant to apply professional judgment. (Ref: par. .A4) The Preparation Engagement .03 An engagement to prepare financial statements is a nonattest service and does not require a determination about whether the accountant is inde- pendent of the entity. (Ref: par. .A5) .04 In addition, an engagement to prepare financial statements does not require the accountant to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by management or otherwise gather evidence to express an opinion or a conclusion on the financial statements or otherwise report on the financial statements. [1] [Footnote deleted by the issuance of SSARS No. 23, October 2016.] ©2020, AICPA AR-C §70.04 4218 Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services Effective Date .05 This section is effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2015. Early implementation is permit- ted. Objective .06 The objective of the accountant is to prepare financial statements pur- suant to a specified financial reporting framework. Definitions .07 For purposes of Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARSs), the following terms have the meanings attributed as fol- lows: Management. The person(s) with executive responsibility for the con- duct of the entity's operations. For some entities, management includes some or all of those charged with governance (for example, executive members of a governance board or an owner-manager). Those charged with governance. The person(s) or organization(s) (for example, a corporate trustee) with responsibility for overseeing the strategic direction of an entity and the obligations related to the ac- countability of the entity.This includes overseeing the financial report- ing process. Those charged with governance may include management personnel (for example, executive members of a governance board or an owner-manager). [As amended, effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2021, by SSARS No. 25.] Requirements General Principles for Performing Engagements to Prepare Financial Statements .08 In addition to complying with this section, an accountant is required to comply with section 60, General Principles For Engagements Performed in Accordance With Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. Acceptance and Continuance of Client Relationships and Engagements to Prepare Financial Statements .09 If the accountant is not satisfied with any of the matters set outin paragraph .26 of section 60 as preconditions for accepting an engagement to prepare financial statements, the accountant should discuss the matter with management or those charged with governance. If changes cannot be made to satisfy the accountant about those matters, the accountant should not accept the proposed engagement. Agreement on Engagement Terms .10 The accountant should agree upon the terms of the engagement with management or those charged with governance, as appropriate. The agreed- upon terms of the engagement should be documented in an engagement letter AR-C §70.05 ©2020, AICPA Preparation of Financial Statements 4219 or other suitable form of written agreement between the parties and should include the following: (Ref: par. .A7–.A11) a. The objective of the engagement b. The responsibilities of management set forth in paragraph .26b of section 60 c. The agreement of management that each page of the financial statements will include a statement indicating that no assurance is provided on the financial statements or the accountant will be required to issue a disclaimer that makes clear that no assurance is provided on the financial statements. (Ref: par. .A13) d. The responsibilities of the accountant e. The limitations of the engagement to prepare financial state- ments f. Identification of the applicable financial reporting framework for the preparation of financial statements g. Whether the financial statements are to contain a known depar- ture or departures from the applicable financial reporting frame- work (including inadequate disclosure) or omit substantially all disclosures required by the applicable financial reporting frame- work [As amended, effective October 2016, by SSARS No. 23.] .11 The engagement letter or other suitable form of written agreement should be signed by a. the accountant or the accountant's firm and b. management or those charged with governance, as appropriate. (Ref: par. .A10) The Accountant’s Knowledge and Understanding of the Entity’s Financial Reporting Framework .12 The accountant should obtain an understanding of the financial re- porting framework and the significant accounting policies intended to be used in the preparation of the financial statements. (Ref: par. .A12) Preparing the Financial Statements .13 The accountant should prepare the financial statements using the records, documents, explanations, and other information provided by manage- ment. .14 The accountant should ensure that a statement is included on each page of the financial statements indicating, at a minimum, that "no assurance is provided" on the financial statements. If the accountant is unable to include a statement on each page of the financial statements, the accountant should do one of the following: (Ref: par. .A13) a. Issue a disclaimer that makes clear that no assurance is provided on the financial statements. (Ref: par. .A14) b. Perform a compilation engagement in accordance with section 80, Compilation Engagements. c. Withdraw from the engagement and inform management of the reasons for withdrawing. (Ref: par. .A15–.A16) ©2020, AICPA AR-C §70.14 4220 Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services [As amended, effective October 2016, by SSARS No. 23. As amended, effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods ending on or after De- cember 15, 2021, by SSARS No. 25.] .15 When preparing financial statements in accordance with a special pur- pose framework, the accountant should include a description of the financial reporting framework on the face of the financial statements or in a note to the financial statements. (Ref: par. .A17) .16 If, during the preparation of financial statements, the accountant as- sists management with significant judgments regarding amounts or disclosures to be reflected in the financial statements, the accountant should discuss those judgments with management so management understands the significant judg- ments reflected in financial statements and accepts responsibility for those judgments. (Ref: par. .A18 and .A24) .17 If the accountant becomes aware that the records, documents, explana- tions, or other information, including significant judgments, used in the prepa- ration of the financial statements are incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise un- satisfactory, the accountant should bring that to the attention of management and request additional or corrected information. If management fails to provide such additional or corrected information, the accountant should disclose a ma- terial misstatement or misstatements in the financial statements in accordance with paragraph .18 or withdraw from the engagement and inform management of the reasons for withdrawing. (Ref: par. .A15–.A16) [As amended, effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2021, by SSARS No. 25.] .18 When, after discussions with management, the accountant prepares financial statements that contain a known departure or departures from the applicable financial reporting framework (including inadequate disclosure), the accountant should disclose the material misstatement or misstatements in the financial statements. (Ref: par. .A19) Preparing Prospective Financial Information .19 The summary of significant assumptions is essential to the user's un- derstanding of prospective financial information. Accordingly, the accountant should not prepare prospective financial information that