Question

In Canada, practitioners follow the standards in the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance for audit and other assurance services. These include Canadian Auditing Standards (CASs), which have been adopted from International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), with some amendments.

The CASs are issued by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB), who also issues other pronouncements and non-authoritative material included in the CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance. The CASs only apply to all audits of financial statements for all types of entities. Other Canadian standards issued by the AASB in the CPA Canada Handbook are the Canadian Standards on Quality Control (CSQC) and Other Canadian Standards (OCS). There are several different types of assurance engagements other than an audit of financial statements discussed below.

describe "in your own words" Other Canadian Standards – CSAE 3530 Attestation Engagements to Report on Compliance

the general purpose of the engagement

the auditor's responsibilities under each for accepting the engagement

type of assurance provided (1 mark)

Answer 1

1) CSAE 3530 is applicable to attestation engagements to report on management's statement of an entity's compliance with specified requirements. CSAE 3530 sets out requirements related to:

▪ Acceptance and continuance;

▪ Planning and performing the engagement;

▪ Obtaining evidence;

▪ Forming the assurance conclusion; and

▪ Preparing the practitioner's report on compliance.

2) Auditor Responsibility

Enhanced description of practitioner’s responsibilities with specific reference to the standard

Auditor responsibility is to express a reasonable assurance opinion on management’s statement based on the evidence they have obtained. Auditor conducted their reasonable assurance engagement in accordance with Canadian Standard on Assurance Engagements 3530, Attestation Engagements to Report on Compliance. This standard requires that auditor to plan and perform this engagement to obtain reasonable assurance about whether management’s statement is fairly stated, in all material respects.

3) Type of assurance provided

     1. A practitioner’s reasonable assurance report on management’s statement that the entity complied with specified requirements established in a funding agreement. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an engagement conducted in accordance with this standard will always detect a material instance of non-compliance with specified requirements when it exists.

    

2. A practitioner’s limited assurance report on management’s statement that the entity complied with specified requirements established in a lending agreement.