Serving the san francisco bay area + beyond since 1976
Serving the san francisco bay area + beyond since 1976
50
years
EST. 1976
REVIEWS + COMPILATIONS
Reviews & Compilations
Get the Financial Reporting You Need + Choose the Right Level of Service
Not every business or organization needs an audit.
Sometimes your lender, investor, owner, board, or another party simply needs financial statements prepared at a specific level of service.
The challenge is knowing what they actually require.
Choosing more than you need can mean additional time and expense. Choosing less than required can mean starting over, creating delays, and potentially paying twice.
That’s where reviews and compilations come in.
A review provides limited assurance on your financial statements using financial analysis, comparisons, and questions asked of management. It involves significantly less work than an audit.
A compilation helps organize financial information provided by management into financial statement form. It does not provide assurance or involve the testing performed in an audit or review.
We help you understand what’s being requested, choose the appropriate service, and address issues that could slow the process down.
The goal:
Meet the requirement.
Avoid unneccesary work.
Control costs.
Keep things moving.
Reviews & Compilations
How We Help With Reviews + Compilations
Financial Analysis + Understanding What Changed
For a review, we look at significant balances, trends, ratios, and changes in your financial information. If something looks unusual or unexpected, we’ll ask questions and determine whether additional information is needed.
Management Conversations + Important Accounting Matters
We talk with you about significant transactions, estimates, accounting policies, unusual events, and other matters that may affect your financial statements.
Compilations + Organized Financial Reporting
For a compilation, we use the financial information you provide to help present your financial statements in the appropriate format. A compilation does not include testing or verification of that information and provides no assurance.
Financial Statements + Disclosures
We help prepare and present the financial statements and applicable disclosures required for the type of engagement you’ve selected.
Accounting Issues + Getting Things Ready
If something needs attention before your financial statements can be issued, we’ll help identify it. That might include an unreconciled account, classification issue, adjusting entry, missing information, or another reporting matter.
Requirements + Choosing the Right Service
Not sure whether you need an audit, review, or compilation? We can help you understand what your lender, agreement, or other financial statement user is requesting so you don’t pay for more than you need—or discover later that you didn’t get enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a review and a compilation?
A review provides limited assurance on your financial statements. The CPA analyzes financial information, asks questions of management, and follows up when something appears unusual or inconsistent.
A compilation provides no assurance. The CPA helps management present its financial information in financial statement form but doesn’t perform procedures designed to verify that information.
What does “limited assurance” mean in a financial statement review?
It means the CPA performs certain procedures to determine whether anything has come to their attention indicating that material changes should be made to the financial statements.
A review is much less extensive than an audit, so it doesn’t provide the same level of assurance.
What happens during a review?
The CPA primarily analyzes your financial information and asks management questions. This may include comparing current results with previous years, budgets, or forecasts; looking at significant changes and financial relationships; and discussing unusual transactions or other accounting matters.
Does a CPA verify our financial information during a compilation?
Generally, no. A compilation is not designed to obtain or provide assurance about the financial information supplied by management. However, if information provided during the engagement appears incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise unsatisfactory, the CPA may need to request additional or corrected information before completing the compilation.
Do reviews and compilations require the CPA to be independent?
For a review, yes.
A compilation can generally be performed when the CPA isn’t independent, but that lack of independence must be disclosed in the accountant’s compilation report.
Are financial statement disclosures required for a compilation?
They can be. Depending on the circumstances, compiled financial statements may contain the disclosures required by the applicable financial reporting rules.
In some situations, management may choose to omit substantially all disclosures when permitted. If that happens, the compilation report must indicate that the disclosures were omitted.
Can our lender require a review instead of a compilation?
Yes—and this is important to confirm before you begin.
Your lender may require a compilation, review, or audit depending on the loan and its requirements. If you obtain a compilation when your agreement requires reviewed financial statements, you may face additional work, expense, and delays.
Can a review identify errors in our financial statements?
It can identify issues that need further investigation. Financial analysis and management discussions sometimes reveal unexpected changes, inconsistencies, or accounting problems.
But a review isn’t designed to provide the same level of assurance as an audit and shouldn’t replace an audit when audit-level assurance is required.