Positive Assurance

	Positive Assurance Positive assurance within accounting ethics, is the affirmation that a Certified Public Accountant believes a something to be true or correct. Issuing an opinion that the financial statements are presented fairly in conformity with U.S. GAAP is an example of a CPA providing positive assurance. When an unmodified audit opinion is given, by definition, the CPA has provided positive assurance because they performed work to prove that financial statements are free from material error. The corollary is negative assurance, a statement about what the CPA does not know. A statement that the CPA was "not aware of material modifications that should be made to financial statements for them to conform with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles" is negative assurance used in review reports. See also Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Accounting Ethics Accounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics and is part of business ethics and human ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting was introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and independent companies. Ethics are taught in accounting courses at higher education institutions as well as by companies training accountants and auditors. Due to the wide range of accounting services and recent corporate collapses, attention has been drawn to ethical standards accepted within the accounting profession. These collapses have resulted in a widespread disregard for the reputation of the accounting profession. To combat the criticism and prevent fraudulent accounting, various accounting organizations and governments have developed regulations and remedies for improved ethics among the accounting profession. Importance of ethics The nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public. It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, all states except Hawaii have passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting-related experience. Continuing professional education (CPE) is also required to maintain licensure. Individuals who have been awarded the CPA but have lapsed in the fulfillment of the required CPE or who have requested conversion to inactive status are in many states permitt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Financial Statement Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand. They typically include four basic financial statements accompanied by a management discussion and analysis: # A balance sheet or statement of financial position, reports on a company's assets, liabilities, and owners equity at a given point in time. # An income statement—or profit and loss report (P&L report), or statement of comprehensive income, or statement of revenue & expense—reports on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a stated period. A profit and loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sales and the various expenses incurred during the stated period. # A statement of changes in equity or statement of equity, or statement of retained earnings, reports on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Publicly traded companies typically are subject to rigorous standards. Small and midsized businesses often follow more simplified standards, plus any specific disclosures required by their specific lenders and shareholders. Some firms operate on the cash method of accounting which can often be simple and straight forward. Larger firms most often operate on an accrual basis. Accrual basis is one of the fundamental accounting assumptions and if it is followed by the company while preparing the Financial statements then no further disclosure is required. Accounting standards prescribe in considerable detail what accruals must be made, how the financial statements are to be presented, and what additional disclosures are required. Some important elements that accounting standards cover include: identifying the exact entity which is reporting, discussing any "going concern" questions, specifying monetary units, and reporting time frames. Limitations The notable limitations of accounting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Negative Assurance Negative assurance within accounting ethics (also known as limited assurance), is a method used by the Certified Public Accountant to assure various parties, such as bankers and stockbrokers, that financial data under review by them is reasonable. Negative assurance tells the data user that nothing has come to the CPA's attention of an adverse nature or character regarding the financial data reviewed. Accounting This type of assurance is normally given to investment bankers and the SEC when the financial data are being used for stock and bond issuance. In addition, this assurance is given whenever a CPA is asked to comment on financial statements upon which a previous Audit Opinion has been rendered. (This type of assurance is unacceptable for the basic financial statements on which a certifying audit has been performed.) Negative assurance is also issued for in review engagements, which are a similar but lower level of service when compared to an audit. Negative assurance comme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States. It identifies its core "mission values" as: accountability, integrity, and reliability. It is also known as the "congressional watchdog". Powers of GAO The work of the GAO is done at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees or is mandated by public laws or committee reports. It also undertakes research under the authority of the Comptroller General. It supports congressional oversight by: * auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively; * investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities; * reporting on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives; * performing policy analyses and outlining options for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Index Of Accounting Articles This page is an index of accounting topics. {{AlphanumericTOC, align=center, nobreak=, numbers=, references=, externallinks=, top=} A Accounting ethics - Accounting information system - Accounting research - Activity-Based Costing - Assets B Balance sheet - Big Four auditors - Bond - Bookkeeping - Book value C Cash-basis accounting - Cash-basis versus accrual-basis accounting - Cash flow statement - Certified General Accountant - Certified Management Accountants - Certified Public Accountant - Chartered accountant - Chart of accounts - Common stock - Comprehensive income - Construction accounting - Convention of conservatism - Convention of disclosure - Cost accounting - Cost of capital - Cost of goods sold - Creative accounting - Credit - Credit note - Current asset - Current liability D Debitcapital reserve - Debit note - Debt - Deficit (other) - Depreciation - Diluted earnings per share - Dividend - Double-entry bookkeeping system - Dual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	International Organization Of Supreme Audit Institutions The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on the type of system used in their home country, the members of INTOSAI may be variously titled the Chief Financial Controller, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Court of Accounts, or the Board of Audit. INTOSAI was founded in 1953 in Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. . Thirty-four audit organizations formed the group originally and as of 2010 the current membership includes 193 institutions (188 national institutions, the Europ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Legal Liability Of Certified Public Accountants Whether providing services as an accountant or auditor, a certified public accountant (CPA) owes a duty of care to the client and third parties who foreseeably rely on the accountant's work. Accountants can be sued for negligence or malpractice in the performance of their duties, and for fraud. Sources of CPAs' liability Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) opinions affect their clients and their judgments can further affect investors, stockholders, firm creditors, or even partners. Large public accounting firms perform thousands of audits annually. Ultimately they will find unmodified reports on financial statements that could appear to be misleading. If CPAs fail to modify the audit report on financial statements that are materially misstated, investors and firm creditors may experience substantial losses. Depending on the jurisdiction, CPAs may be liable for damages based upon common law, statutory law, or both. Common law liability arises from negligence, breach of contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Accounting In The United States Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language of business", measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys this information to a variety of stakeholders, including investors, creditors, management, and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as accountants. The terms "accounting" and "financial reporting" are often used as synonyms. Accounting can be divided into several fields including financial accounting, management accounting, tax accounting and cost accounting. Financial accounting focuses on the reporting of an organization's financial information, including the preparation of financial statements, to the external users of the information, such as investors, regulators and suppliers; and management accounting focuses on the measurement, ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]