A compilation offers the advantage of engaging a set of trained eyes to review the financial records of the nonprofit. The scope of a compilation can be a month, a quarter, or an entire year’s financial records. So, if a nonprofit does not have the internal capacity to put its financial records into a “professional” format, a compilation can accomplish that.

The external accountant, mostly a CPA, assists a company’s management in presenting the accounting data in the form of financial statements. The presentation of data does not cover any assurance about any material modifications needed to make the statements according to a prescribed accounting framework(GAAP or IFRS). When a company’s financial statements are prepared or compiled by an external certified public accountant, it refers to a compilation of financial statements. In order to provide financial statements and compilation report, an accountant must follow the Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. These standards stipulate that financial statements include a balance sheet or statement of financial position, an income statement and a statement of cash flows. The balance sheet presents the assets, liabilities, and equity of the organization.

When the financial statements prepared by the accountant are to be used by external parties, he must also submit a report along with the financial statements. When the accountant has completed the engagement and prepared financial statements, he must read the statements to confirm that there are no material errors. The accountant must possess an understanding level of the industry in which the client’s business operates. It includes understanding generally used accounting frameworks, procedures, and principles in most industry entities that will help accountants compile industry standards.

Because of the even more limited scope of compilation procedures, the CPA’s report will not express an opinion or provide any assurance regarding the financial statements. A financial statement compilation is a service to assist the management of a business in presenting its financial statements. This presentation involves no activities to obtain any assurance that there are no material modifications needed for the financial statements to be in conformity with the applicable accounting framework (such as GAAP or IFRS). Thus, a person engaged in a compilation does not use inquiries, analytical procedures, or review procedures, nor does he need to obtain an understanding of internal controls or engage in other audit procedures. In short, compilation activities are not designed to provide any assurance regarding the information contained within the financial statements.

What is a compilation?

In a review engagement, the auditor conducts analytical procedures and makes inquiries to ascertain whether the information contained within the financial statements is correct. The result is a limited level of assurance that the financial statements being presented do not require any material modifications. In an audit engagement, the auditor must corroborate the ending balances in the client’s accounts and disclosures. This calls for the examination of source documents, third party confirmations, physical inspections, tests of controls, and other procedures as needed. Because a review engagement is substantially less intensive in scope than an audit, the CPA cannot express an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements taken as a whole. The reason why the accountant does not offer any assurance in the compilation report is that he or she is not required to check the completeness or accuracy of the data given by the organization.

However, if the auditor concludes that the departures from GAAP are so significant that the financial statements as a whole are not fairly stated, an adverse opinion must be issued. An adverse opinion will include language describing what the auditor believes is materially misstated in the financial statements, and the effects of the misstatements. Having compiled financial statements is the first step in establishing financial credibility for start-ups and/or smaller organizations. Compilations provide financial transparency in an organization and allow the organization to make better decisions involving financial matters. While independence is required at the other levels of service, the CPA does not have to be independent of your organization to perform a compilation. To obtain reasonable assurance, items are observed, tested, confirmed, compared or traced based on the auditor’s judgment of their materiality and risk.

• However, if a business needs to provide some degree of assurance that its financial statements are reliable, it may be necessary to engage a CPA to perform a review or an audit.
• Preparing financial statements is important for managers, bankers and credit debtors.
• When the financial statements prepared by the accountant are to be used by external parties, he must also submit a report along with the financial statements.
• In fact, financial statements greatly influence the decision-making process when it comes to planning the company’s future operations.
• The objective of a financial “review” conducted by an independent auditor is to examine the nonprofit’s financial statements and determine whether the financial statements are consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.
• Under a compilation, management takes responsibility for the preparation and presentation of the financial statements.

A compilation engagement is a mandate through which a certified public accountant collects the information provided by the management of the company and presents it in the form of financial statements. Depending on the company’s needs, the business entity can hire a certified public accountant to prepare one or more compilation financial statements. When an accountant accepts the audit engagement terms, he/she is tasked with preparing and presenting the financial statements of the client’s company. He/she is required to follow the accepted reporting framework (IFRS or US GAAP) when preparing the financial statements.

More from Merriam-Webster on compilation

Some of the information contained in an engagement letter includes the services to be provided, the amount and timing of payments, specific due dates, how the parties can terminate the contract, etc. Most compilation engagement letters will state that the accountant will prepare and present financial statements and provide a compilation service. Compilations allow companies without an accountant to have financial statements prepared by an outside professional without the higher cost of reviewed or audited financial statements. With compilations, or compiled financial statements, the outside accountant converts the client’s data into financial statements without providing any assurances or auditing services.

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However, the essence of the compilation is hidden in the purpose of the compilation. Upgrading to a paid membership gives you access to our extensive collection of plug-and-play Templates designed to power your performance—as well as CFI’s full course catalog and accredited Certification Programs. Access and download collection of free Templates to help power your productivity and performance.

What Is Compilation Of Financial Statements?

A review engagement is conducted to provide limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements for them to be in conformity with the financial reporting framework. Ideally, auditors will provide an unqualified, or total absorption costing “clean,” opinion on the company’s financial statements. An unqualified opinion will contain language such as “the financial statements present fairly in all material respects” and “in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted (GAAP) in the United States.

Everything about compiled financial statements has been described under AR Section 80. Every CPA undergoing the compilation process must understand and engage in compilation according to regulations outlined under Section AR 80. He should also present a compilation report to the client under prescribed regulations. Certain standards govern hiring an external accountant and the scope of compilation.

A compilation engagement may address either a complete set of financial statements or an individual statement. With respect to the review engagement, the CPA indicates that the financial statements are plausible and appear to meet applicable standards. In case compiled statements are required, the CPA involvement adds confidence to your financial status. The accountant should create sufficient documentation to provide a clear understanding of the work that he has completed. This documentation should include the engagement letter, significant issues, and any communications to management regarding fraud or illegal acts noted by the accountant. The special condition in compilation engagement is that there is no requirement to disclose errors, frauds, or illicit activities.

A compilation refers to a company’s financial statements that have been prepared or compiled by an outside accountant. The compilation statement is a requirement of many business entities seeking loans or other purposes. Many financial institutions or creditors do not rely on the compilation statements as there is no assurance provided in the statements.

Standards Governing Compilation Of Financial Statements

This brochure compares a basic financial statement preparation, compilation, review and audit engagements and can assist you in educating your clients on the differences between the levels of service. Click on the link below to download the PDF for this brochure, which can be personalized for your firm and provided to your clients. The objective of a financial “review” conducted by an independent auditor is to examine the nonprofit’s financial statements and determine whether the financial statements are consistent with generally accepted accounting principles. A review shares the goals of an audit, however, a review is not conducted with the same level of investigation or analysis as an independent audit. The compilation report may be a full disclosure report with complete footnote explanations of certain amounts and policies contained in the financial statements. Omission of this information is not permissible under the other levels of service.

The accountant is also not required to gather any evidence for the purpose of verifying the information provided. Aside from presenting the financial condition and results of operations of the organization, a compilation is useful in that it provides the organization’s financial statements a level of credibility from an independent certified accountant. Although no assurance is given by the accountant, third parties will still appreciate an organization who hires an accountant for compilation services based on the professionalism, reputation, and skills of the accountant involved. Also, it does not provide assurance that the company has complied with the accepted accounting principles. Therefore, the accountant engaged in a compilation engagement is not required to use analytical procedures, review procedures, or inquiries, or engage in other audit procedures.