The integrity of your practice depends on the contents of your engagement letters. Whether it's a new engagement, repeat engagement, or, especially, a changed engagement, you need to know what to say and how to say it correctly. Using the sample letters and advice in this user-friendly guide, you'll improve client/CPA communication, document your engagements more effectively, and protect yourself from litigation. A well-constructed engagement letter also provides an opportunity to explore other potential business with your client. A wide variety of engagement types are covered, and every letter can be easily customized and printed.

CPA's Guide to Effective Engagement Letters: Implementing Successful Loss Prevention Practices provides the information needed to compose effective engagement letters. The book is a practical, hands-on tool that can sit on the auditor's desk for easy access. The CPA's Guide is composed primarily of annotated parts of an engagement letter and full engagement letters that CPAs can tailor for his or her own purposes. The free CD-ROM that accompanies CPA's Guide to Effective Engagement Letters contains all the individual sections, the full text of all the letters in the book, and case studies illustrating the dos and don'ts of engagement letter use. The book comprises eight sections: 1. Financial Statements 2. Tax Preparation and Planning 3. General Accounting 4. Other Engagements 5. Other Letters 6. Internal Controls 7. Record Retention and Destruction Policy 8. Disengaging The book is formatted so that the left-hand column contains suggested engagement letter wording pertaining to a specific subject and the right-hand column offers commentary and important advice. The suggested wording the book has been compiled and edited with resources from CAMICO Services, Inc., a subsidiary of CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company, and the commentary, including pitfalls to avoid, is based on the experience of actual CPAs.

Audits provide essential accountability and transparency over government programs. Given the current challenges facing governments and their programs, the oversight provided through auditing is more critical than ever. Government auditing provides the objective analysis and information needed to make the decisions necessary to help create a better future. The professional standards presented in this 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards (known as the Yellow Book) provide a framework for performing high-quality audit work with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence to provide accountability and to help improve government operations and services. These standards, commonly referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), provide the foundation for government auditors to lead by example in the areas of independence, transparency, accountability, and quality through the audit process. This revision contains major changes from, and supersedes, the 2011 revision.