Positive assurance within
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 ...
, is the affirmation that a
Certified Public Accountant believes a something to be true or correct. Issuing an opinion that the
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 un ...
s are presented fairly in conformity with
U.S.
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 territori ...
GAAP
Gaap (also ''Tap'', ''Coap'', ''Taob'', ''Goap'') is a demon that is described in demonological grimoires such as ''the Lesser Key of Solomon'', Johann Weyer's ''Pseudomonarchia Daemonum'', and the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic, as well as Jacq ...
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
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Government Accountability Office
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Index of accounting articles
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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 t ...
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Legal liability of certified public accountants
References
Accounting in the United States
Auditing terms
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