Aglagadan, Gian Kaye V.

III - BSA
Discuss assurance, attestation, and audit. Provide relationships among these three (examples in terms
of scope, differences, if any, etc.)

Audits are analyses and examinations into a particular area of your business. Information
and data are gathered during an audit in order to identify operational control weaknesses in your
finance department, potential workplace hazards, and specific IT risks that may have an impact on your
company's security. Audits can take many different forms:

 Accountability checks
 audits of conformity
 audits of safety or human resources policies
 Operations reviews
 audits of IT protocols

In other words, an audit can look at non-financial parts of your business operations or
financial transactions for your corporation. They are made to make it possible for an auditor to offer a
fair assessment of the data gathered and to identify any holes in the existing internal controls or
systems.

After that, a report can be created and given to the manager or owner of the company so
they can assess the problems that need to be resolved. A manager or supervisor may conduct an
internal audit, or you may request an external audit from a third-party company.

Certified public accountants also can perform attestations for organizations in addition to audit
reporting, or provide it as a separate service. An attestation basically takes all the data and information
that has been gathered and checks its validity based upon agreed-upon procedure engagements. An
organization can also request attestation to be performed regarding compliance procedures, reviews on
internal control functions, and reporting on financial forecasts, projections, or pro forma data.

A lot of times, attestation and auditing services are mistaken for one another. One thing to
keep in mind to distinguish between each of these services is that while attestation is performed to
assess and review how true the data or information is in comparison to a stated purpose, internal
control, or system, audits are performed to uncover data, risks, or compliance issues that may not have
been known before the audit took place.

For example: an organization may want to discover whether their operations are in compliance
with a certain set of government regulations for their industry. An audit may be performed to look for
gaps in their compliance procedures as an issue may be discovered. Then the organization can seek an
attestation to the reported information.

As an opinion is offered regarding the compliance issue, the attestation engagement

investigates the problem to see if it deviates from the compliance standard. The company can then take
the required actions to get its operations back into compliance and put in place risk management
procedures to stop a recurrence of the problem.

Companies need to be reassured that the data and information supplied is reliable and
credible whether they transact business with other organizations, seek funding from outside investors,
or even engage in merger negotiations. Assurance services are useful in this situation. A certified public
Aglagadan, Gian Kaye V.
III - BSA
accountant's assurance job seeks to verify the information offered. The accountant will share their
viewpoint on the data that the business can utilize to make a choice.

As a result, an investor may request assurance work to verify the financial data related to a
company that has requested investment. Before giving a report, the certified public accountant would
examine the acquired data and put it through the prescribed procedures so that the investor may trust
the given facts before approving the financial transaction.

In essence, an assurance service helps a business achieve three key objectives:

 The fact that the organization is providing accurate information about its data, internal controls,
and systems benefits its reputation.
 aids businesses in making the best choices for their operations to foster financial success
 Improved information credibility can result in lower transaction costs and improved resource
allocation.

A variety of goals can be achieved by using assurance services. A business could want to
confirm that all the financial data is correct. They can also want assurance services to check on a
company's compliance with all laws and standards.

The three major accounting services of audit, attestation, and assurance are crucial. They
are essential services that auditing and accounting experts offer to all professions. Since they provide
the authentication of goods and services, these services complement one another and are crucial to the
proper operation of enterprises.

The process of analyzing financial information to determine whether it has been

documented and presented in accordance with the established criteria, along with the production of a
report that shows the degree of correlation, is the same for assurance, auditing, and attestation.
Auditing entails methodically gathering and assessing evidence regarding economic developments in a
certain business and determining the degree of consistency between these claims and the predefined
principles.

In contrast, attestation occurs when a professional expresses an opinion regarding the

accuracy of a written financial assertion made on behalf of another business. Since it is not just for
economic events, this service is more comprehensive. In addition to reporting data's accuracy,
timeliness, and relevance, assurance also refers to data's consistency and credibility. They are extra
services provided by a practitioner to raise the caliber of the advice given.

The accounting activities of assurance, attestation, and audits are intertwined and each has
unique professional guidance. Attestation and assurance are supported by the audit activities. A
trustworthy attestation and the level of confidence sought for an engagement are determined by the
ethics and competence of the accountant or auditor in carrying out the engagement, in accordance with
the professional guidance.
Aglagadan, Gian Kaye V.
III - BSA
Citations:

What is the difference between audit attestation and assurance? (2019, September 14). Retrieved from
https://sage-answer.com/what-is-the-difference-between-audit-attestation-and-assurance/

Fazal, H. (2014, March 16). What is the difference between assurance and attestation in auditing?
Retrieved from https://pakaccountants.com/what-is-the-difference-between-assurance-and-attestation-
in-auditing/

Explain the relationship between audit, attest and assurance services. (2020, September 22). Retrieved
from https://essaygroom.com/explain-the-relationship-between-audit-attest-and-assurance-services/

Defining attestation, auditing & assurance | I.S. Partners, LLC. (2017, June 14). Retrieved from
https://www.ispartnersllc.com/blog/defining-attestation-assurance-auditing/