Audit & Assurance
Companies need assurance services at various stages and for various reasons. Timely and accurate financial statements can help a business achieve its objectives and can be beneficial in several ways:
- They help business owners analyze performance and make smart decisions;
- They serve as an important planning tool for federal and state income taxes; and
- They often satisfy reporting requirements from outside parties providing oversight or financing
Cummings, Keegan & Co., P.L.L.P. (CK&Co.) provides assurance services for clients in numerous industries. Our process emphasizes extra attention on the planning stage, to minimize time and effort in the later stages. We accomplish this by getting to know your business, incorporating a strong level of partner involvement on your engagement, and fostering a work environment that results in low turnover of our team members. We provide professional, quality results that you, your creditors, and your investors can rely on.
What We Offer
There are four key services we offer to meet your auditing and assurance needs: financial statement preparation, compilations, reviews, and audits. Each of these services are distinct and serve different needs. To determine the level of assurance you need, consider the following:
- What is management’s intended use for the financial statements?
- Do external parties, such as creditors, investors, or other outside parties need to rely on these financial statements
- What level of assurance do you need to obtain?
CK&Co. can prepare your financial statements for you. For this service, you provide records from your business and we prepare the financial statements based on what you provide. While it may fulfill some lenders’ requirements, it is not a formal report nor do we verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. This service is helpful in providing owners and key decision makers with information on the company’s current financial standing. This is for your own information and does not provide any level of assurance.
A compilation presents financial information in the form of financial statements. Because the CPA does not verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, the CPA does not provide any level of assurance. This is typically beneficial for privately-held companies and may meet lender requirements when lower amounts of financing are sought. A compilation report is issued at the conclusion of the engagement.
In a review, our professional staff performs inquiries and analytical procedures to obtain limited assurance on the financial statements. Reviews provide the user with a level of comfort on the accuracy of the financial statements. A formal report is issued in which a conclusion is made as to whether any material modifications would need to be made to the financial statements for them be in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. It is smaller in scope than an audit. Reviews are helpful as a business grows and begins to seek more substantial levels of financing. When rotated with an audit, reviews are also helpful when governing boards experience planned turnover every few years.
An audit provides the highest level of assurance as to the accuracy of the financial statements. A number of procedures are performed to enable the CPA to obtain reasonable assurance that the statements are free from material misstatement. A formal report is issue at the conclusion of the engagement. More than any other document, the audited financial statements provide a reliable financial pictures of your business. Audits are required for public companies and are typically necessary for obtaining high levels of financing. Audits, rotated with reviews, are especially helpful when an organization experiences planned turnover on governing boards every few years, as is common with associations.
Meet Peter Maddalena
I take great pride in and enjoy helping people solve problems. The clients put tremendous trust in me to handle their financial concerns.