Preparing Financial Statements: Notice to Reader, Review Engagements and Audits

Business owners often under estimate the importance of their financial statements. These documents go far beyond simply something they need for filing their corporate taxes. Financial statements help with business decisions and may be required by lending institutions when applying for or continuance of financing arrangements. Other stakeholders, such as investors will also require this information as it provides clarity into how the company is performing.

At Gary R. Landa, CA Professional Corporation, we prepare financial statements for our corporate clients. We work closely with you in order to understand your business and its needs and then provide valuable business planning services as well as feedback on both present and future requirements.

There are three levels of financial statement presentation. The engagement required for your company will depend on the level of assurance needed. The three levels are:

Notice to reader financial statements This is an unaudited financial statement which is prepared by a Chartered Public Accountant based on information provided by the client. As part of the service, your accountant may provide assistance with bookkeeping as well as posting adjusting entries and prepare and file the tax return. This is sometimes called a Compilation Engagement .

Review Engagement This type of financial statement is commonly issued as a result of requirements by lending institutions. A review engagement requires a higher level of involvement from the accountant as we must determine the plausibility of the statement. It is the accountant’s job to establish plausibility via discussions with the client and through the use of analytical procedures.

Audit Engagement The most thorough type of financial statement is called an audit engagement. An audit engagement involves detailed analysis of a company’s financials as well as other techniques such as interviews and analysis which culminate in the accountant issuing an Auditors’ Report stating their opinion whether that the financial statements are in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as well as detailed analysis and disclosures in the notes section of the financial statements.

What type of statement do you need? The type of financial statement that your business requires depends on the circumstances for which it is being used and the level of assurance that is required. We can sit down with you to discuss your needs and help you determine which type of statement is most appropriate for you.