Special Assurance & Related Services

A lender, grant provider, shareholder or another stakeholder may need a specific report rather than a general-purpose statutory audit. Saifudin & Co helps clarify the purpose, intended users and suitable engagement before the work is agreed.

Choose the right type of engagement

• Agreed-upon procedures: perform clearly agreed procedures and report the factual findings. Users assess those findings; no assurance opinion or conclusion is provided.
• Compilation: assist management in preparing and presenting financial information using accounting expertise. A compilation does not provide assurance.
• Review of financial information: a review under the applicable review standard provides limited assurance and differs in scope from an audit.
• Special-purpose audit reporting: consider engagements involving special-purpose financial statements, a particular statement or element, or summary financial statements, where the relevant criteria and standards are met.
• Other assurance requests: assess the subject matter, suitable criteria, evidence, intended users and practitioner competence before deciding whether an engagement can be accepted.

Start with the actual reporting requirement

Share the request from the intended recipient, reporting period, underlying records, required wording and deadline. A request to “certify” figures does not by itself establish which engagement is suitable. Procedures, responsibilities, limitations and permitted use should be clear before acceptance.

How the work is organised

We assess the purpose and professional requirements, agree the scope and information needed, perform the applicable work and prepare the corresponding report. Findings and conclusions depend on the evidence. No favourable result is promised in advance.

Scope and responsibilities

Management remains responsible for the underlying information and its preparation. Engagement acceptance includes the applicable ethical, independence and competence requirements. A review is not a substitute for a statutory audit where an audit is required. Requests outside the agreed scope require separate assessment.

Common scoping questions

What if the recipient asks us to “certify” figures?

Send the original request and any report template. We need to clarify the figures, intended use, required procedures and report wording before identifying a suitable engagement.

Does an agreed-upon procedures report say whether the figures are correct overall?

It reports the findings from the agreed procedures. It does not express an assurance opinion or conclusion; users assess the procedures and findings for their purpose.

Can we choose a review instead of an audit?

First confirm the applicable requirement and what the intended recipient accepts. A review provides limited assurance and cannot replace an audit where an audit is required. Our guide to choosing an engagement explains the differences.

Discuss your requirements

Send us the reporting requirement, who will use the report, the period covered and the information available. For a general-purpose financial statement audit, see Audit & Assurance.

Further guidance

Relevant standards include the IAASB standard on agreed-upon procedures and the applicable review, compilation or audit standards. Professional conduct is subject to the MIA By-Laws.