New Standard on Compilation Engagements will be issued in February 2020

Finally the new compilation standard CSRS 4200 will be out in February 2020. The AASB (Accounting and Assurance Standard Board) approved a new standard on compilation engagements in October 2019, to be issued in February 2020. The new standard takes effect for compiled financial information for periods ending on or after December 14, 2021, with early application permitted. Its impact could be significant, practitioners will have to start work in 2020 to ensure successful implementation.

The AASB recognized that Section 9200, Compilation Engagements, was outdated. The new standard, Canadian Standard on Related Services (CSRS) 4200, Compilation Engagements, will replace Section 9200 and Assurance and Related Service Guideline (AuG) 5, Compilation Engagements – Financial Statement Disclosures. It provides a suite of requirements and guidance for accepting, conducting, and reporting on compilation engagements.

The following are the major improvement designed to respond to stakeholder input and public interest issues per the AASB:

• A scope clarifies what services are compilation engagements. The new standard clarifies that a bookkeeping service may result in system-generated financial information. Such information is excluded from the scope of the standard if no communication is included or attached to it.

• Specific engagement acceptance considerations that apply when the compiled financial information is intended to be used by a third party. Practitioners may not accept or continue the engagement when the basis of accounting to be applied in the preparation of the financial information is not general purpose financial reporting framework unless the third party can meet one of the following conditions:

(a) The third party is in a position to request and obtain further information from the entity; or

(b) The third party has agreed with management the basis of accounting to be applied in the preparation of the financial information.

• Establish minimum work effort and documentation requirements: refer paragraph 27 to 33 for in the draft for detail.
• The new compilation engagement report that is more informative and insightful than the current Notice to Reader. It requires that compiled financial information must include a note describing the basis of accounting that was applied.

You can read the draft standard which can be downloaded at here to learn more detail. The AASB will be publishing the standard, guidance and examples in 2020, so stay tuned.