New Attestation Standard on Review Engagements

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued a new standard (SSAE No. 22) which specifies a review engagement’s objective to obtain limited assurance on any material modifications (if any) to be made in accordance with set attestation criteria.

This new standard elaborates the different procedures a practitioner can perform corresponding to a review engagement. In addition, it also lays the following guidelines for a practitioner:

• A review engagement’s objective should essentially be obtaining limited assurance and not perform analytical procedures and inquiries.
• Outcome should be a transparent reporting with a disclosure in the review report (i.e. all the procedures performed to obtain limited assurance should be clearly laid out).
• Issue a report imbibing an adverse review conclusion in cases where the subject matter is materially and pervasively misstated.

SSAE No. 22, Review Engagements supersedes SSAE No. 18, Attestation Standards: Clarification and Recodification, as amended, Section 210 having the same title.

SSAE No. 22 also is applicable for practitioners’ review reports dated on or after June 15, 2022. Early implementation of this standard is permitted for the practitioners only in cases of early implementation of the amendments to AT-C Section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements, included in SSAE No. 21.