Assurance

Highest Level of Assurance

An audit is a comprehensive examination of the client’s financial statements with the highest level of assurance to outside parties that the financial statements fairly present its financial position and results of operations are in accordance with stated accounting principles. An audit may be applicable for compliance with significant creditors, investors, and vendors.

An audit may include:

• Evaluation of the internal controls
• Tests of the supporting documentation for account balances
• Outside confirmation of certain account balances
• Observation of the physical inventory counts (if any)

Limited Assurance

A review of financial statements relies on analytical procedures and making inquiries of client management relating to the accounting practices and principles used by the organization; the procedures for recording and accumulating financial information; and the actions of an organizations’ stockholders/ board of directors. Reviews may be adequate for entities that must report their financial positions to third parties, such as creditors or regulatory agencies.

Lowest Level of Assurance

In a compilation engagement, the accountant reads the compiled financial statements to ensure that the statements are in appropriate form and free from obvious material errors. Due to the limited scope of compilation procedures, the standard compilation report disclaims any degree of assurance on the financial statements. A compilation may be useful to small, privately held companies that need help in preparing their financial statements. A compilation is based on information provided by the client.

Waldron Rand adheres to the highest standards of technical accuracy, proficiency and ethical practice in the profession. We submit to external peer reviews every three years. In our most recent peer review, we received an “Unqualified Opinion without Comments”—the highest rating attainable.