Tag Archives for " Yellow Book "

Government Auditing Standards 2018 Revision (Hot Off the Press)

By Charles Hall | Auditing , Local Governments

Government Auditing Standards 2018 Revision

The Government Accountability Office just issued the new Yellow Book titled Government Auditing Standards 2018 Revision.

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An electronic version of the 2018 Yellow Book can be accessed on GAO’s Yellow Book web page at http://www.gao.gov/yellowbook.

Major Changes

The introduction to the new Yellow Book summarizes the significant changes as follows:

This revision contains major changes from, and supersedes, the 2011 revision. These changes, summarized below, reinforce the principles of transparency and accountability and strengthen the framework for high quality government audits.

• All chapters are presented in a revised format that differentiates requirements and application guidance related to those requirements.
• Supplemental guidance from the appendix of the 2011 revision is either removed or incorporated into the individual chapters.
• The independence standard is expanded to state that preparing financial statements from a client-provided trial balance or underlying accounting records generally creates significant threats to auditors’ independence, and auditors should document the threats and safeguards applied to eliminate and reduce threats to an acceptable level or decline to perform the service.
• The peer review standard is modified to require that audit organizations comply with their respective affiliated organization’s peer review requirements and GAGAS peer review requirements. Additional requirements are provided for audit organizations not affiliated with recognized organizations.
• The standards include a definition for waste.
• The performance audit standards are updated with specific considerations for when internal control is significant to the audit objectives.

Effective with the implementation dates for the 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards, GAO is also retiring Government Auditing Standards: Guidance on GAGAS Requirements for Continuing Professional Education (GAO-05-568G, April 2005) and Government Auditing Standards: Guidance for Understanding the New Peer Review Ratings (D06602, January 2014).

Effective Dates

The 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards is effective for financial audits, attestation engagements, and reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after June 30, 2020, and for performance audits beginning on or after July 1, 2019.

Early implementation is not permitted.

The 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards supersedes the 2011 revision (GAO-12-331G, December 2011), the 2005 Government Auditing Standards: Guidance on GAGAS Requirements for Continuing Professional Education (GAO-05-568G, April 2005), and the 2014 Government Auditing Standards: Guidance for Understanding the New Peer Review Ratings (D06602, January 2014). 

Does Your Yellow Book Client Have Sufficient SKE?

By Charles Hall | Auditing

Are you a CPA that prepares city or county financial statements for an audit client? If yes, are you independent under the Yellow Book independence standards?

Picture from AdobeStock.com

Yellow Book Independence

The 2011 Yellow Book (effective for periods ending after December 15, 2012; http://www.gao.gov/yellowbook) requires that the external auditor document the CPA firm’s independence when the firm also provides nonaudit services (such as preparation of financial statements).  Many small governments have their external auditors prepare their financial statements.

When such a service is provided by the audit firm, the audit client has to have someone with sufficient skill, knowledge and experience to oversee the nonattest service.

If the government has no one with sufficient SKE, then the external auditor is not independent and can’t ethically perform the audit.

Examples of SKE

Consider the following potential reviewer scenarios:

1. A 15 year mayor who is a businessman, no accounting education, no formal training in reading governmental financial statements, he understands the fund level statements but can’t grasp the reconciliation between the government-wide financial statements and the fund level financial statements.

2. Second year finance director with no prior accounting experience, graduated from a two year college with a degree in general business.

3. Finance director with 25 years experience and is a CPA, member of GFOA, trains others in governmental accounting.

4. Finance director with a high school education but has extensive governmental accounting training from the Carl Vinson Institute, could if he liked, create the financial statements from scratch.

As you can see, the independence assessment will sometimes be black and white, but sometimes there will be shades of gray.

An Alternative

If the auditor can’t get comfortable with the SKE of the government’s financial statement reviewer, there is one alternative: the local government can hire someone outside the government with sufficient SKE to be the reviewer (for example a CPA not affiliated with the external audit firm).

At the end of the day, the local government must have a designated person (either internally or externally) with sufficient SKE for the audit firm to be independent.

Yellow Book CPE Requirements – A Summary

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing , Local Governments

What are the requirements for Yellow Book continuing professional education (CPE)?

Below we will address (1) who is subject to the Yellow Book CPE requirements and (2) what CPE classes satisfy those requirements.

Overview

First realize there are two rules:

1. The 80-hour rule (every two years)
2. The 24-hour rule (every two years)

Then you must answer:

1. Who is subject to each rule?
2. What classes qualify for each rule?

The 24 Hour Rule – Who is Subject?

The answer: each auditor performing work on a Yellow Book audit; if as an auditor you work on the engagement, you are subject to this rule. If your audit report contains a Yellow Book report (usually located just after the notes to the financial statements), then that engagement is subject to generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS).

The 80-Hour Rule – Who is Subject?

The answer: Auditors who are involved in any amount of:

1. Planning,
2. Directing, or
3. Reporting on GAGAS assignments
and
4. Those auditors who are not involved in those activities but charge 20 percent or more of their time annually to GAGAS assignments.

I interpret 1., 2. and 3. as mainly partners, managers, and in-charges. 4. relates to staff who support the audit.

So a staff person that does not meet the criteria in 4., but still works on a Yellow Book engagement must still satisfy the 24-hour rule (but not the 80-hour rule).

What Classes Qualify?

The Yellow Book states, “Determining what subjects are appropriate for individual auditors to satisfy both the 80-hour and the 24-hour requirements is a matter of professional judgment to be exercised by auditors in consultation with appropriate officials in their audit organizations.”

First we see that there is judgment in what qualifies (no bright yellow lines). But there are differences in the 80-hour rule and the 24-hour rule; otherwise, there would be only one category.

The 80-Hour Rule – Classes that Qualify

The 80-hour rule is broad (encompassing any CPE that enhances the auditor’s professional proficiency); so, for example, CPE classes about writing skills or using Excel would qualify. (Taxation CPE usually does not qualify unless the class addresses audit-related issues. For example, a 1040 tax class does not qualify.)

For those subject to the 80 hour rule, at least 20 hours of CPE should be taken in each year of the two-year period; a total of 80 hours is to be taken in the two-year period.

The 24-Hour Rule – Classes that Qualify

Each auditor performing work under GAGAS should complete, every 2 years, at least 24 hours of CPE that directly relates to government auditing, the government environment, or the specific or unique environment in which the audited entity operates.

The 24-hour rule is specific to:
(1) Government auditing,
(2) The government environment or
(3) To the specific or unique environment in which the audited entity operates.

Government Auditing

Classes directly related to standards used in governmental auditing qualify; since GAGAS incorporates the AICPA statements on auditing standards (SASs) for field work and reporting, then audit classes that include a study of the SASs as they relate to the audit of your governmental entity would qualify. The same is true of pronouncements issued by the FASB. Single Audit classes also obviously qualify.

Government Environment

CPE dealing with Governmental Accounting Standards (GASB pronouncements) will qualify for the 24-hour rule since the class focuses on accounting standards in the government environment.

If you audit a county or a city, then most any CPE dealing with GASB pronouncements or governmental issues (e.g., sales taxes) will satisfy the 24-hour rule; also classes dealing with compliance with laws and regulations qualify.

Classes addressing economic conditions, fiscal trends, and pressures facing the governmental entity qualify.

Specific or Unique Environment in Which the Audited Entity Operates

Suppose you audit electric membership corporations (EMCs) subject to the Yellow Book; a CPE class about electrical supply grids qualifies. Or if you audit banks subject to Yellow Book requirements (e.g., FHA loans), then a CPE class dealing with lending qualifies. These classes address issues in the unique environment in which the audited entity operates.

Two-Year Cycle

An audit organization can adopt a standard 2-year period for all of its auditors to simplify administration of the CPE requirements.

Carryover Credit

Auditors are not allowed to carry over hours taken in excess of the 24-hour or 80-hour rule to the next reporting period.

Proration of Hours for New-Hires (or Those Newly Assigned to a Yellow Book Audit)

You will prorate the hourly requirements based on the remaining 6-month intervals in your two-year reporting period. For example, you hire someone on May 1, 2013 and your two-year cycle ends December 31, 2013. There is only one remaining 6-month period. If you are subject to the 24 hour rule, then you will multiply 25% (one six-month period divided by the four six-month periods in the two-year cycle) times 24 to compute the hours required: 6 hours.

GAO Guidance

Click here for the April 2005 GAO publication: Government Auditing Standards, Guidance on GAGAS Requirements for Continuing Professional Education.