Our audit, accounting, and attestation services cover a broad range of engagements for businesses of all types and sizes. Our extensive experience, coupled with our commitment to staffing all client engagements with highly trained service professionals, means you can count on us to meet your needs and exceed your expectations. When selecting AHP, you can expect quality service and support every step of the way.

Engagement Types

Reporting Engagements

Audit and accounting reporting engagements entail a broad range of services in which some level of assurance is generally expressed (through the issuance of a report) on a document or an assertion made by your organization’s management. The level of assurance expressed, if any, depends on the nature of the engagement. Assurance levels can range from expression of an opinion (as in an audit) to no assurance (as in a compilation). Limited assurance, negative assurance, and agreed-upon procedures are other forms of assurance that can be expressed. The end product of a reporting engagement is a written report issued by AHP.

Accounting Assistance Engagements

Depending on the nature of the engagement, these services could be performed in conjunction with a reporting engagement or as a stand-alone service. In an accounting assistance engagement, we assist you with accounting procedures that are typically associated with an entity’s normal accounting function. These services can include procedures or tasks required to record, value, or summarize accounting balances and transactions and the presentation of this information in financial statement form.

Specific Services

Accounting Assistance AHP

Accounting assistance includes assistance with procedures or tasks required in order to record, value, or summarize accounting balances and transactions and to present this information in financial statement form with appropriate information for the notes to the financial statements. Assistance can include performing or assisting with the performance of the procedures or consulting about the procedures. Some examples include assisting with accounting estimates, accruals, and closing journal entries.

Benefits:

  • Supplements existing accounting experience
  • Provides flexible alternative to a full-time employee
  • Provides flexible staffing alternative

Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services AHP

Accounting services include assistance to supplement your current in-house expertise. Our complete bookkeeping and payroll services for small to medium-sized organizations include, but are not limited to, monthly, quarterly or annual bookkeeping (data entry, journal entries, reconciliations, etc.), payroll processing, business property tax statements, sales tax returns, and payroll returns.

Benefits:

  • Provides relatively inexpensive alternative
  • Allows for integration with your current accounting staff

Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements AHP

During agreed-upon procedures engagements, the firm issues a report on findings based on the performance of specific procedures that are agreed to by the accountant and a third party. The scope of procedures can vary widely based on your needs and what you believe is appropriate.

Benefits:

  • Reduces costs
  • Narrows focus to target your specific needs

Compiled Financial Statements AHP

Compiled financial statements is a service where the accountant presents, in the form of financial statements, information that is the representation of an organization’s management (owners) without undertaking to express assurance on the financial statements. At management’s election, the financial statements may be prepared with substantially all disclosures omitted. Common financial statement bases of accounting used for compilations include accrual basis, cash basis, and income tax basis. The accountants’ report is issued, but provides no financial statement assurance.

Benefits:

  • Satisfies external reporting requirements
  • Provides least-expensive financial statement reporting service

Compliance, Audit, and Attestation Services AHP

This service results in the issuance of a report on an organization’s compliance with requirements of specified laws, regulations, rules, contracts, or grants. It can also include reporting on the effectiveness of an entity’s internal control over compliance requirements. Compliance requirements may be financial or non-financial in nature. A common example is a single audit of an organization’s compliance with laws and regulations under Government Auditing Standards. Another is an entity’s compliance with provisions of an agreement or contract.

Benefits:

  • Satisfies external reporting requirements
  • Identifies weaknesses in internal control

Employee Benefit Plan Audits AHP

This service can include audits, reviews, or compilations of 401(k), or other defined contribution plans, defined benefit pension plans, health and welfare plans, and others. This can include preparation of Form 5500 or assistance with record keeping. In addition, we can help evaluate current benefit arrangements and administer 401(k) plans.

Benefits:

  • Satisfies external reporting requirements
  • Improves record keeping

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Forecasts and Projections AHP

Forecasts and projections is a type of engagement that presents prospective information in the form of financial statements. A forecast is a prospective financial statement based on assumptions that are believed to be the most likely to occur. A projection, on the other hand, is prospective information that is based on a “what-if” scenario, but not necessarily the most likely scenario. Different levels of reporting assurance are available for each form of information. An accountant may either examine (basically audit-level assurance), compile, or apply agreed-upon procedures to prospective financial statements. The review level of assurance is not available for prospective financial statements.

Benefits:

  • Signals to management that corrective actions might be needed in some aspect of operations
  • Provides a financial snapshot of the organization under certain assumptions
  • Establishes financial targets
  • Increases accountability
  • Satisfies external reporting requirements

Fraud Assessment and Investigations AHP

This service includes investigation of alleged fraudulent activities as well as assessing your company’s current risk. We believe the best deterrent to fraud is a system of strong controls combined with education about identifying the warning signs of fraud. Since many of the controls that deter fraud can also help prevent unintentional errors, a fraud assessment engagement is a particularly valuable one.

Benefits:

  • Trains you to spot red flags
  • Trains employees on their role in fraud prevention
  • Assesses your existing fraud risk
  • Tests your antifraud controls
  • Trains employees to embrace your organization’s core values and guiding principles

Fraud investigation services can:

  • Provide confidential investigations
  • Assist your legal team with investigatory procedures
  • Assist with internal investigations
  • Lead a multi-disciplinary investigation team
  • Preserve your cash
  • Adopt “best practices”
  • Reduce temptation
  • Promote success
  • Protect your organization’s reputation
  • Identify misappropriation
  • Promote a culture of honesty
  • Create a positive workplace
  • Enhance ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees
  • Suggest ideas for deterring fraud
  • Investigate allegations of fraud

Specific Services:

  • Fraud risk check-up
  • Tests of antifraud controls
  • Agreed-upon procedures
  • Collaborative investigations
  • Assistance with fraud policy
  • Employee awareness training

Interim Accounting Assistance AHP

This service is designed as a temporary solution for performing day-to-day accounting functions whether that need is caused by unexpected employee turnover, rapid expansion, or other circumstances. Availability on short-term notice.

Benefits:

  • Provides experience at levels above what you normally find on a temporary basis
  • Provides self-starter professionals
  • Provides flexible engagement lengths
  • Provides flexible rates
  • Transitions to permanent replacement

Internal Audits AHP

These engagements encompass the performance of procedures that are normally designed to focus on areas of internal control in more depth than would be expected in a financial statement audit. The scope of the engagement can be narrow or broad.

Benefits:

  • Provides flexible scope defined by the organization
  • Allows for procedures to be performed over time

Internal Control Assessment AHP

This service ranges from fine-tuning a specific part of your operations to a thorough evaluation of your system’s overall design and operating effectiveness. An organization’s system of internal control includes five components: 1) the control environment, 2) assessment of risk, 3) control activities, 4) information processing, and 5) monitoring. Most organizations have both formal and informal activities within these five areas.

Benefits:

  • Identifies opportunities for operational efficiencies
  • Provides peace of mind about operations

Operational Audits AHP

The objective of an operational audit is to evaluate and recommend improvements in:

  • Overall operations
  • A segment of operations
  • Specific processes within a segment

In a typical engagement, which is more than just looking at the financial picture, we start by helping you define your desired state of operations (i.e., where would you like to be). Then we assess the current conditions (i.e., where are you now). Through an interactive process, we help generate ideas for improvements, evaluate the best solutions, and provide you with support during implementation of the solutions. To the extent a particular solution requires training, we can help with that training or offer recommendations for other qualified trainers.

Benefits:

  • Generates ideas for process improvements
  • Evaluates alternative process solutions
  • Offers an objective, outside view of operations
  • Reduces expenses

Peer Review Services AHP

A peer review is an engagement where one CPA firm expresses assurance about whether another CPA firm’s system of quality control over its accounting and auditing practice meets the requirements of professional standards. This assurance may be in the form of an opinion on the firm’s system of quality control (a system review) or a report of limited assurance on selected engagements submitted for review (an engagement or report review). System reviews apply to CPA firms that perform audits. Engagement reviews generally apply to firms that perform no audits. Report reviews are limited to firms that perform only compilations that omit substantially all disclosures.

Benefits:

  • Satisfies external reporting requirements (AICPA)
  • Improves system of quality control

Personal Financial Statements AHP

Sometimes called a statement of net worth, these are financial statements of an individual and/or spouse. The financial statements are prepared using the fair market values of the individual’s assets and liabilities. Personal financial statements may be audited, reviewed, or compiled. Personal financial statements commonly are used in arranging for financing or estate tax planning.

Benefits:

  • Satisfies external reporting requirements
  • Assists in obtaining financing
  • Improves financial planning ability

Policies and Procedures Manuals AHP

A policies and procedures manual provides members of an organization with a systematic approach to implementation of policies and work procedures. A properly developed manual conveys management’s philosophies through improved communications, reduced training time, and improved productivity by giving employees authoritative guidance.

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Reviews AHP

A review is a procedures-driven engagement where an accountant expresses “limited assurance” (but not an opinion) about financial statements. In expressing limited assurance, an accountant states whether or not the financial statements contain material modifications that should be made in order for them to be in conformity with a basis of accounting, for example, generally accepted accounting principles. In a review engagement, the accountant performs analytical procedures and inquiries of entity management to obtain a reasonable basis for the limited assurance.

Benefits:

  • Issues accountant’s report
  • Provides a limited level of financial statement assurance
  • Creates opportunities for management to improve operations, although this is not the intent of the engagement
  • Costs less than an audit
  • Satisfies external reporting requirements

SAS 70 Audits AHP

Two types of engagements are available under this service:

Type I: Report on Controls Placed in Operation
This option results in a report on 1) the organization’s descriptions of the controls that may be relevant to a user organization’s internal control as they relate to an audit of financial statements, 2) whether such controls were suitably designed to achieve specified control objectives, and 3) whether they had been placed in operation as of a specified date. The objective of this type of report would be the expression of an opinion on whether relevant controls had been placed in operation and were suitably designed to achieve the specified control objectives.

Type II: Report on Controls Placed in Operation and Tests of Operating Effectiveness
This option results in a report on 1) an organization’s descriptions of the controls that may be relevant to a user organization’s internal control as they relate to an audit of financial statement, 2) whether such controls were suitably designed to achieve specified control objective, 3) whether they had been placed in operation as of a specified date, and 4) whether the controls provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that the related control objectives were achieved during the period specified. The objective of the report would be the expression of an opinion on whether relevant controls had been placed in operation, and were suitably designed and operating effectively to achieve the specified control objectives.

Benefit of a Type I report to a user organization:

This type of report is helpful in providing a user organization’s auditor with an understanding of the controls necessary to plan an audit of the user organization, design effective tests of controls, and perform appropriate substantive tests.

Benefit of a Type II report to a user organization:

This type of report is helpful in providing a user organization’s auditor with an understanding of the controls necessary to plan an audit and may also provide the auditor with a basis for reducing his or her assessments of control risk below the maximum.

SEC Filings AHP

SEC filing engagements are to assist in the preparation of the filing requirements for a public registration or to assist in the preparation of information for inclusion in quarterly or annual SEC reports.

Benefit:

  • Complies with the filing requirements of the SEC

Single Audits AHP

A single audit goes beyond the procedures performed in a regular financial statements audit by providing an opinion on an organization’s compliance, in all material respects, with the types of compliance requirements described in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement that are applicable to its major federal programs. A single audit also reports on internal control over compliance with requirements of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants applicable to federal programs.

Benefit:

  • Complies with requirements of regulatory agencies

Related Resources

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