Nonaudit Services Provided by Audit Organizations
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GAO-03-673G Government Auditing Standards > Chapter 2 Types of Government Audits and Attestation Engagements > Nonaudit Services Provided by Audit Organizations
2.14 Audit organizations may also provide nonaudit services that are not covered by GAGAS. 1 Nonaudit services generally differ from financial audits, attestation engagements, and performance audits in that auditors may (1) perform tasks requested by management that directly support the entity’s operations, such as developing or implementing accounting systems; determining account balances; developing internal control systems; establishing capitalization criteria; processing payroll; posting transactions; evaluating assets; designing or implementing information technology or other systems; or performing actuarial studies or (2) provide information or data to a requesting party without providing verification, analysis, or evaluation of the information or data, and, therefore, the work does not usually provide a basis for conclusions, recommendations, or opinions on the information or data. These services may or may not result in the issuance of a report. In the case of nongovernment auditors who conduct audits under GAGAS, the term nonaudit services is synonymous with consulting services.
2.15 GAGAS do not cover nonaudit services described in this chapter since such services are not audits or attestation engagements. Therefore, auditors should not report that nonaudit services were conducted in accordance with GAGAS. However, audit organizations are encouraged to establish policies for maintaining the quality of this type of work, and may wish to disclose such policies in any product resulting from this work, any other professional standards followed, and the quality control steps taken.
2.16 Importantly, although GAGAS do not provide standards for conducting nonaudit services, auditors providing such services need to ensure that their independence to provide audit services is not impaired by providing nonaudit services. (See chapter 3, general standards on independence.)
1If audit organizations provide nonaudit services, audit organizations need to consider whether providing these services creates a personal impairment either in fact of appearance that adversely affects their independence for conducting audits.
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