Our approach to accepting non-attest clients is much less formal, consisting of verbal discussion and online profiling, with documentation limited to the acceptance or non-acceptance decision. Similarly, documentation on continuation and withdrawal procedures for non-attest clients is limited to selecting status in the client listing.
This means that our policy is NOT to consider independence when accepting a non-attest client unless there is a clear expectation that attest services will be provided to the client later.
The engagement terms for non-attest services need not be documented in an engagement letter when a third-party marketplace platform (such as Upwork or Paro) is used, provided the platform's standard terms of use apply to such arrangements.
When a client (initially accepted as a non-attest client) approaches us to engage in an attest service, we follow the procedures outlined below to perform a new acceptance process. 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.
NOTE: We do NOT accept attest clients at the moment.
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 enable us to perform the engagement in accordance with professional standards and regulatory requirements. This means that the firm expects to satisfy the requirements regarding (I) subject-matter competence, (II) internal resources, and (III) external resources.
For attest engagements, the firm must also meet the independence requirements (IV). The independence requirements must be:
Our process typically consists of the following steps: