Accounting and Assurance Services
Copeland Buhl offers a variety of Accounting and Assurance services consisting of Audits, Reviews, Compilations, Preparations and Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP). Below is a summary of each level of service, and how each level of service may be of benefit to you.
Audit:
An audit is the highest level of assurance provided on financial statements. Financial statement audits are typically a requirement of a lender; however, a financial statement audit is also a useful tool for prospective buyers of a Company. An audit provides potential buyers confidence in reported financial results. Copeland Buhl can also assist with audits for charitable organizations; the state of Minnesota requires an audit for those charitable organizations which have total annual revenues over $750,000.
Employee Benefit Plan Audit:
The Department of Labor requires an audit of an employee benefit plan once the plan has greater than 120 eligible participants at the beginning of the Plan year. This requirement remains in place as long as there are greater than 100 eligible participants at the beginning of the Plan year.
Review:
A review is substantially less in scope than an audit and is a great way to ensure your financial statements are in compliance with an applicable financial reporting framework at a lower cost than an audit. While a review may be a requirement of a lender, the analysis and understanding a CPA achieves during a review provides value to the management team.
Compilation:
In a compilation engagement, we take information from management and present it in the form of financial statements. No assurance is expressed on the financial statements. Copeland Buhl can assist with year end journal entries to ensure all items are properly recorded while also preparing annual financial statements to summarize the operating performance results for the year.
Preparation:
A preparation engagement consists of preparing monthly or quarterly performance reports. The performance report can be customized by management in order focus on key performance indicators of the Company. After each performance report has been issued, Copeland Buhl will go over the results and offer insight as to how the Company can improve performance.
Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP) Engagement:
AUP engagements are a more cost-effective way to look at a specific area in internal controls or line items in a financial statement. AUP engagements may consist of performing an inventory count to ensure proper processes and procedures are in place or could consist of performing specific procedures over a potential acquisition to gain comfort over various transactions or internal controls. This enables the user to focus on key areas without incurring costs on low-risk areas.
Please contact your Copeland Buhl representative if you have questions on the Accounting and Assurance services.