Non-Attest Client and Engagement Acceptance

The scope of our CEAC guidance includes attest clients only.

Our approach to acceptance of non-attest clients is much less formal and consists of verbal discussion and online profiling with documentation limited to the acceptance or non-acceptance decision made. Similarly, documentation around continuation and withdrawal procedures applicable to non-attest clients is limited to the selection of status in the client listing.

This means that our policy is that we do NOT consider independence when accepting a non-attest client unless there is a clear expectation that attest services will be later provided to the client.

The engagement terms for non-attest services also are not required to be documented in an engagement letter in cases when a third-party marketplace platform (like Upwork or Paro) was used and the standard terms of use of the respective platforms apply to such arrangements.

When a client (originally accepted as a non-attest client) approaches us with a request to engage in an attest service, we perform a new acceptance process in accordance with the procedures stated below. Once the client is determined to be an attest client, we follow continuance and withdrawal processes for attest clients regardless of the type of work performed.

Attest Client and Engagement Acceptance

We shall only work with clients and engagements when we have the availability and competence to perform in accordance with professional standards. We should not accept engagements where we believe that the client lacks integrity.

We accept an engagement only when on the planned start date of the engagement, the firm is expected to have internal resources or access to external resources that ensure our ability to perform the engagement following professional standards and regulatory requirements. This means that the firm expects to satisfy requirements regarding (I) subject matter competence, (II) internal resources available, and (III) external resources available.

For attest engagements, the firm must also satisfy requirements for (IV) independence. The independence requirements must be:

  1. Satisfied on the date of engagement acceptance decision;
  2. Expected to remain satisfied at any time prior to the completion of the attest engagement.

Our process typically consists of the following steps: