Codification of Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements

This volume, issued by the Accounting and Review Services Committee, Auditing Standards Board (ASB), and Consulting Services Executive Committee, is a Codification of currently effective Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs) through number 15, and the related attestation interpretations, applicable to the preparation and issuance of attestation reports for all nonissuers (nonissuers are all entities other than issuers as defined by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or other entities who are required to be audited by a registered public accounting firm as prescribed by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission). Superseded portions have been deleted, and all applicable amendments have been included.

SSAEs are issued by senior technical bodies of the AICPA designated to issue pronouncements on attestation matters. Rule 202, Compliance With Standards, of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct requires an AICPA member who performs an attest engagement (a practitioner) to comply with such pronouncements. A practitioner is required to comply with an unconditional requirement in all cases in which the circumstances exist to which the unconditional requirement applies. A practitioner is also required to comply with a presumptively mandatory requirement in all cases in which the circumstances exist to which the presumptively mandatory requirement applies; however, in rare circumstances, the practitioner may depart from a presumptively mandatory requirement provided that the practitioner documents his or her justification for the departure and how the alternative procedures performed in the circumstances were sufficient to achieve the objectives of the presumptively mandatory requirement.

Attestation interpretations are recommendations on the application of SSAEs in specific circumstances, including engagements for entities in specialized industries, issued under the authority of AICPA senior technical bodies. An interpretation is not as authoritative as a pronouncement; however, if a practitioner does not apply an attestation interpretation, the practitioner should be prepared to explain how he or she complied with the SSAE provisions addressed by such attestation interpretation. The specific terms used to define professional requirements in the SSAEs are not intended to apply to interpretations because interpretations are not attestation standards. It is the ASB's intention to make conforming changes to the interpretations over the next several years to remove any language that would imply a professional requirement where none exists.

ACCOUNTING AND REVIEW SERVICES COMMITTEE
Carolyn H. McNerney, Chair
Michael P. Glynn, Technical Manager—
Audit and Attest Standards

AUDITING STANDARDS BOARD
Harold L. Monk, Jr., Chairman
Charles E. Landes, Vice President—
Professional Standards and Services

CONSULTING SERVICES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dominic A. Cingoranelli, Jr., Chairman

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