ACCAP7高级审计与认证业务知识辅导3本文由高顿ACCA整理发布，转载请注明出处CONTINUE TO BE REST ASSUREDThis article looks at the topic of assurance in the context of Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance, describing a framework for the classification of assurance and non-assurance engagements, and giving guidance on the practical approach required when undertaking assurance assignmentsNote: ISAE 3000, ISAE 3400, ISRS 4400, ISRS 4410 and ISRE 2400 are not examinable documents for Paper P7 UK and Ireland.ASSURANCE ENGAGEMENTSThe glossary of terms published by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board （IAASB） describes an assurance engagement as:An engagement in which a practitioner expresses a conclusion designed to enhance the degree of confidence of the intended users other than the responsible party about the outcome of the evaluation or measurement of a subject matter against criteria.IAASB AND THE ASSURANCE FRAMEWORKThe IAASB has developed the International Framework for Assurance Engagements in which it gives detailed guidance on assurance and non-assurance engagements. The structure and hierarchy of pronouncements are summarised at www.ifac.org in the IAASB handbook, which is freely available online. For Paper P7 purposes, a summary of the developing framework for assurance and non-assurance engagements is shown below:ASSURANCE ENGAGEMENTS ON HISTORIC FINANCIAL INFORMATIONThe first distinction to be made is to distinguish between the two types of assurance engagements on historic financial information that can be provided. The difference is the level of assurance provided on the historical information.Reasonable assurance engagement This is a statutory audit, where the approach required will need to be consistent with local legislative requirements, such as the Companies Act 2006 in the UK, and audit work will need to be carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing （ISAs）。 The auditor will express a conclusion designed to enhance the degree of confidence of the intended users of the financial statements, and moderate to high assurance would normally be given.Limited assurance engagement A limited assurance engagement is increasingly being seen as an alternative to thestatutory audit. A good example of this type of engagement is represented by recentinitiatives in the UK, which have proposed the introduction of mini audits forcompanies below the audit exemption threshold. There currently exists no UKstatutory requirement for a mini audit, although an increasing number of companiesare requesting, on a voluntary basis, limited assurance engagements. Suchengagements do not give the same level of assurance as a statutory audit, but insteadgive negative assurance based on more limited procedures than are required with astatutory audit. Negative assurance will typically be worded as follows:Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention to indicate that theaccompanying financial statements contain material misstatement.With a negative assurance statement, effectively no opinion is given on theinformation, but at least some assurance is provided that the information appearsreasonable。ASSURANCE ENGAGEMENTS OTHER THAN AUDITS OR REVIEWS OFHISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATIONThe International Standard on Assurance Engagements （ISAE） 3000 gives guidanceto practitioners （defined by ISAE 3000 as professional accountants in public practice）for the performance of assurance engagements other than audits or reviews ofhistorical financial information. A summary of the key requirements of ISAE 3000 isshown in the following table.1Ethical requirements practitioners should comply with ethicalrequirements （ie IESBAs Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants andACCAs Code of Ethics and Conduct）。2Quality control the practitioner should implement quality controlprocedures that are applicable to the individual engagement.3Engagement the terms of the engagement should be recorded in anengagement letter, and the practitioner should agree on the terms of theengagement with the engaging party.4Planning and obtaining evidence the practitioner should plan theengagement so that it will be performed effectively, and should considermateriality and assurance engagement risk, and sufficient appropriateevidence should be obtained on which to base the conclusion.5Reporting the assurance report should be in writing and should contain aclear expression of the practitioners conclusion about the subject matterinformation.The approach required by ISAE 3000, and the work undertaken with an assurance engagement, may be similar in many respects to a