Statements on Auditing Procedure

Statements on Auditing Procedure were issued by the Committee on Auditing Procedure of AICPA from 1939 to 1972. The Committee issued 54 SAPs before it became the Auditing Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC) and began issuing Statements on Auditing Standards.Statement on Auditing Standards No. 1 summarized and superseded the 54 SAPs.

List of Statements on Auditing Procedure

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No. Official title Issued on
1 Extensions of auditing procedure full-text 1939 October
2 Auditor's opinion on the basis of a restricted examination full-text 1939 December
3 Inventories and receivables of department stores, instalment houses, chain stores, and other retailers full-text 1940 February
4 Clients' written representations regarding inventories, liabilities, and other matters full-text 1941 March
5 Revised S.E.C. rule on "accountants' certificates" full-text 1941 February
6 Revised S.E.C. rule on "accountants' certificates"(continued) full-text 1941 March
7 Contingency liability under policies with mutual insurance companies full-text 1941 March
8 Interim financial statements and the auditor's report thereon full-text 1941 September
9 Accountants' reports on examinations of securities and similar investments under the Investment Company Act full-text 1941 December
10 Auditing under wartime conditions full-text 1942 June
11 Auditor's opinion on the basis of a restricted examination : (no. 2) full-text 1942 September
12 Amendment to Extensions of auditing procedure full-text 1942 October
13 Auditor's opinion on the basis of a restricted examination, (no. 3); face-amount certificate companies full-text 1942 December
14 Confirmation of public utility accounts receivable full-text 1942 December
15 Disclosure of the effect of wartime uncertainties on financial statements full-text 1942 December
16 Case studies on inventories full-text 1942 December
17 Physical inventories in wartime full-text 1942 December
18 Confirmation of receivables from the government full-text 1943 January
19 Confirmation of receivables : (positive and negative methods) full-text 1943 November
20 Termination of fixed-price supply contracts; Examination of contractors' statements of proposed settlements full-text 1943 December
21 Wartime government regulations full-text 1944 July
22 References to the independent accountant in securities registrations full-text 1945 May
23 Clarification of accountant's report when opinion is omitted full-text 1947 December
23 revised Clarification of accountant's report when opinion is omitted full-text 1949 December
24 Revision in short-form accountant's report or certificate full-text 1948 October
25 Events subsequent to the date of financial statements full-text 1954 October
26 Reporting on use of "other procedures." full-text 1956 April
27 Long-form reports full-text 1957 July
28 Special reports (applicability of reporting standards in special circumstances) full-text 1957 October
29 Scope of the independent auditor's review of internal control full-text 1958 October
30 Responsibilities and functions of the independent auditor in the examination of financial statements full-text 1960 September
31 Consistency full-text 1961 October
32 Qualifications and disclaimers (clarification of reporting standards) full-text 1962 September
33 Auditing standards and procedures full-text 1963
34 Long-term investments full-text 1965 September
35 Letters for underwriters full-text 1965 November
36 Revision of "Extensions of auditing procedure" relating to inventories full-text 1966 August
37 Special report : public warehouses : controls and auditing procedures for goods held full-text 1966 September
38 Unaudited financial statements full-text 1967 September
39 Working papers full-text 1967 September
40 Reports following a pooling of interests (supersedes paragraphs 35 and 36 of chapter 8 of Statements on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1968 October
41 Subsequent discovery of facts existing at the date of the auditor's report full-text 1969 October
42 Reporting when a certified public accountant is not independent full-text 1970 January
43 Confirmation of receivables and observation of inventories (supersedes paragraphs 16-20 of chapter 6 and paragraphs 27-29 of chapter 10 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 33, and Statement on auditing procedure no. 36) full-text 1970 September
44 Reports following a pooling of interests (supersedes Statement on auditing procedure no. 40) full-text 1971 April
45 Using the work and reports of other auditors (supersedes paragraphs 32 and 36 of chapter 10 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1971 July
46 Piecemeal opinions (supersedes paragraphs 22-25 of chapter 10 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 33 and pertinent portions of paragraph 9 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 34) full-text 1971 July
47 Subsequent events (supersedes chapter 11 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1971 September
48 Letters for underwriters (supersedes Statement on auditing procedure no. 35) full-text 1971 October
49 Reports on internal control full-text 1971 November
50 Reporting on the statement of changes in financial position (supersedes paragraph 6 of chapter 10 of Statement on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1971 November
51 Long-term investments full-text 1972 July
52 Reports on internal control based on criteria established by governmental agencies full-text 1972 October
53 Reporting on consistency and accounting changes (supersedes chapter 8 of statement on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1972 November
54 Auditor's study and evaluation of internal control (supersedes chapter 5 of statement on auditing procedure no. 33) full-text 1972 November

History of Statements on Auditing Procedure

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The history of the Statements on Auditing Procedures began in 1917 when the American Institute of Accountants (the predecessor organization for the AICPA) was asked by the Federal Trade Commission to prepare a "memorandum on-balance-sheet audits." The resulting document was published in the April 1917 issue of the Federal Reserve Bulletin[1] and reissued in 1918 as a pamphlet.[2] In 1929 the pamphlet was again revised.[3] A third revision was done in 1936.[4]

The Institute determined that, rather than reissuing the 1936 pamphlet, it would, through the Committee on Auditing Procedure, issue Statements on Auditing Procedure that modified and superseded parts of the 1936 pamphlet. The SAPs were "designed to guide the auditor in those areas of specific situations encountered in practice in which he must exercise judgment, situations outside the realm of textbooks, whose function is inherently to describe procedures in general."[5] By 1948, the 1936 pamphlet was considered so out-of-date that it was withdrawn from publication.

In 1951, the first 24 Statements on Auditing Procedure were codified [6] The Codification also contains a summary history of the process of standardizing auditing practice up to 1951 (see pp. 5–8).

In 1954, the Committee on Auditing Procedure finished work on the booklet Generally Accepted Auditing Standards: Their Significance and Scope.[7] This publication responded to the Securities and Exchange Commission's recommendation that the auditor's report make a representation as to compliance with generally accepted auditing standards.[8]

Statement on Procedure no. 33 again codified previous Committee on Auditing Procedure publications, including the 1951 Codification, The 1954 Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, and Statements on Auditing Procedure 25-32.

The final publication of the Committee on Auditing Procedure, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures 1,[9] superseded SAPs 33-54. The Statement is now known as Statement on Auditing Standards, no. 1, and began a series of Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs) that are still being issued by the Auditing Standards Board. See Statements on Auditing Standards (USA). Beginning in 1976, these Standards were codified annually as section AU of the AICPA's Professional Standards.

References

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  1. ^ "Uniform Accounting: a tentative proposal submitted by the Federal Reserve Board." Federal Reserve Bulletin April 1917 full-test
  2. ^ Approved methods for the preparation of balance sheet statements. 1918 full-text
  3. ^ Verification of financial statements. United States. Federal Reserve Board, 1929 full-text
  4. ^ Examination of financial statements by independent public accountants. American Institute of Accountants, 1936 full-text
  5. ^ Codification of statements on auditing procedure, based on statements 1 to 24 (1939 to 1949). American Institute of Accountants, 1951, p. 7 full-text
  6. ^ Codification of Statements on Auditing Procedure, Based on Statements 1 to 24 (1939 to 1949). American Institute of Accountants, 1951 full-text
  7. ^ Generally Accepted Auditing Standards: Their Significance and Scope. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1954 full-text
  8. ^ Codification of statements on auditing procedure, based on statements 1 to 24 (1939 to 1949). American Institute of Accountants, 1951, p. 6 full-text
  9. ^ Statement on Auditing Standards, no. 1. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1973 full-text
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