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The moving parts of non-audit assurance engagements
There's a lot to consider when scoping non-audit assurance engagements. John Ward explores the main elements.
Auditors are used to audits of financial statements that are heavily defined in form and content, based on accounting policies applied to accounting systems subject to internal control, financial reporting standards and, through the audit, to auditing standards.
This extensive structure is not replicated in the world of assurance more broadly. Audit is part of that world of assurance – actually, the greater part – but it is also the more heavily defined. Consequently, audit has almost grown apart from assurance (for the main differences, see table, right), despite being based on the same underlying principles.