Attested and non-attested service
Attested Services: Attest Services occur when a practitioner is engaged to issue or does issue a report on subject matter or an assertion about subject matter that is the responsibility of another party. It is a consulting service in which a CPA (Certified Public Accountants) expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written statement that is the responsibility of someone else. The CPA is not required to verify or confirm the records and they do not need to analyze the statements for accuracy. However, in the event that an accountant finds erroneous, misleading or incomplete information in the financial statements they must notify management or abandon their involvement in assessing the company’s financial statements.
Non-attested Services: Non-attested services occur when a practitioner does not engage to issue or does issue a report as a subject matter of an assertion about subject matter that is the responsibility of another party. Non-attest services are services provided to a client that is not specifically related to the performance of an attest engagement. For example, nonattest services include activities such as financial statement preparation, cash to accrual conversions, reconciliations, and tax return preparation.
