Standards kept for compilations.

STANDARDS KEPT FOR COMPILATIONS

The American Institute of CPAs accounting and review services committee (ARSC) concluded after a public hearing that Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) no. 1, Compilation and Review of Financial Statements, should not be amended to provide different standards for interim financial statements.

The proposed change would have allowed CPAs to submit interim "plain paper" financial statements to nonpublic clients without issuing compilation, review or other reports. The interim statements would not have included CPA firms' names or logos. In addition, the service would not have been allowed for clients' yearend financial statements.

Before making its decision, the ARSC held the public meeting to determine if the issues relating to the proposal were fully identified. Based on the discussions at the hearing, the ARSC decided that amending the standard could lead to abuses and a lowering of the quality of CPAs' work.

The committee also said, based on the number and nature of the practice questions raised during the course of the deliberations, that how-to guidance should be provided to help CPAs determine when SSARS standards apply.