Question

Describe what assurance services, attestation services, and auditing services are and how they’re related. How do they differ from each other? What professional standards govern them?

Answer 1

Assurance Service -  An assurance service is an broad category of services to improve the quality of information for decision making. Assurance services included lots of areas of information, including non-financial areas.

Attestation services – Attestation services occur when a practitioner is engaged to issue a report or an assertion about subject-matter, that is the responsibility of another party. It include examinations, reviews, and agreed upon procedures.

Audit services – Audit Services is the examinations of historical financial statements, in which the auditor expresses his views and writes conclusion reports for financial Records, transactions and statements. It is a systematic process of evaluating evidence regarding financial transactions.

Relation –

As the definition tells that the scope of assurance is wider. Assurance includes attestation and audit. Auditing is a specific type of attestation of financial records. Attestation services are primary for financial information and audit is for their respective financial statement while Assurance services is for any information related with the company. So all are connected with each other

Difference

Assurance service is much broader term and concept as compared to Attestation service and Auditing Services.

Auditing services includes systematic process of evaluating evidence regarding financial transactions. While in Attestation services CPA provides his reports according to the results analized and validated in the auditing process An assurance service includes an independent review that results in improvement of the quality of information for decision making.

Follwing professional standards govern assurance services, attestation services, and auditing services

• Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs)
• Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs)
• Statements on Quality Control Standards (SQCSs)