Financial statement reviews or compilations may be appropriate for smaller companies or in situations where financial statements are intended primarily for the use of management. While these classified among the attest services that we provide our clients, neither includes an actual opinion on a company’s financial statements, as is the case in an audit. The objective of a compilation is to assist management (the owners) in presenting financial information in the form of financial statements without undertaking to obtain or provide any assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements. Compiled financial statements may be presented either with or without footnotes, depending on the needs of the users.

Our report on reviewed statements will state that “a review is substantially less in scope than an audit.” It will go on to report that “we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial statements in order for them to be in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.” In most circumstances, however, bankers and other sophisticated users of financial statements are familiar with the professional standards under which we operate, and they know what scope of services will satisfy their requirements.

According to our clients’ needs, either compilations or reviews may be performed on an interim basis as well as at year end. Many of our clients do not have financial executives on their staffs. As such, our work in this area will often include assistance in the development of adjusting journal entries and in closing the books. We often work with our client’s bookkeepers to help them with accounting questions, procedures, and other matters. We can adapt our services to be responsive to the client’s needs. Our involvement in this process is invaluable in improving our understanding of the client’s business and in supporting the ongoing tax planning process.