Cody Ravalli, CPA, provides audit and attestation services to businesses and nonprofit organizations in New York and around the country. Whether you are expanding business operations, negotiating a loan, seeking investment capital, or entering other transactions, your financial statements must be informative and accurate.
Cody will work closely with you to determine which financial statement report best suits your needs and provide proper planning, testing, and accurate reporting. Cody’s services follow the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Rest assured, you will be confident that your financial statements can be relied upon for business decisions. Contact Cody Ravalli, CPA, today to schedule a consultation.
About Audit and Attestation Services
An attestation engagement is an arrangement in which a CPA investigates and reports on the subject matter (e.g. financial information) provided by the client. Cody Ravalli’s audit and attestation services include:
Compilations
Small businesses without accounting staff often outsource their financial statement preparation. When a CPA prepares financials, it is known as a compilation, which presents financial information provided by management.
The CPA does not perform, audit, or review procedures or provide an opinion or any assurance about whether the financial statements adhere to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or other accounting standards. Clients often rely on a compilation to demonstrate that the company utilized a CPA to prepare their financial statements.
Reviews
A review is similar to a financial audit but is narrower in scope and serves a different purpose. In this engagement, a CPA performs an analysis of information provided by management but does not render an opinion on the financial statements.
Reviews provide limited assurance to lenders and other parties on the completeness and accuracy of the financial statements. In short, the CPA assures that, based on their review, they are not aware of any material modifications that should be made for the financial statements to comply with GAAP.
Audits
An audit provides creditors, investors, and other third parties with reasonable assurance that an organization’s financial statements are free from material misstatement. A CPA performs several procedures when conducting an audit, including:
- Reviewing internal controls
- Assessing fraud risks
- Testing financial transactions
- Confirming account balances with third parties
- Making inquiries to management
In addition, the company’s involvement in the audit process includes:
- Preparing financial statements for review
- Providing footnotes to the financial statements
- Having formal accounting policies and procedures
- Providing supporting evidence of transactions underlying the financial statements
- Answering the auditor’s questions
Ultimately, CPAs conduct audits for businesses to meet creditor, regulatory, or other requirements. In addition, an audit report, which may include a comments letter offering suggestions for improvements in controls and operations, provides management with valuable information for proactive decision-making.
Agreed-Upon Procedures
In these engagements, the client and the auditor agree on specific procedures to test areas of concern to the business and third parties. The agreed-upon procedures are known as “audit standards.” For example, a business considering acquiring another entity may develop audit standards to effectuate the transaction. A CPA only provides factual findings and does not offer opinions, conclusions, or assurances in the final report; the audit facilitators draw conclusions from those findings.
Why Your Organization May Need Audit and Attestation Services
Your business or organization may require Cody Ravalli’s audit and attestation services under the following circumstances:
Applying for a Business Loan
Clients negotiating business loans and other types of creditor financing often come to Cody for attestation services and consider a compilation or a review of their balance sheet, rather than an audit, to provide assurance to the lender.
Attracting Investment Capital
Attestation services may be necessary if you are seeking equity investments. Angel investors typically work hand in glove with startups and often sit on the board, so they likely have access to the financials and may not require a full-scale audit. On the other hand, venture capital investors typically invest large sums in more mature companies and will require assurance through an audit.
Contracting with the Government
When applying for a federal government contract, the agency must determine that your business is a “responsible contractor” and meets general standards, including collateral requirements. Having a CPA perform a review or an audit can improve your prospects of landing the contract.
Selling Your Company
If you are selling your business, a financial audit may be necessary depending on how you structure the transaction. In an asset sale, the buyer will assess the value of the assets during its due diligence and may not need a financial audit. If you are selling shares of the business, the buyer may require at a minimum an audit of the balance sheet and any net operating losses.
Nonprofit Annual Reviews
Some nonprofit organizations must complete an annual review or audit, while others only require a compilation. Cody Ravalli regularly performs compilations for nonprofits and also provides attestation services to validate the accuracy of financials prepared by management.
Brooklyn CPA Providing Audit and Attestation Services For Organizations Nationwide
If your business requires audit and attestation services, trust Cody Ravalli to help present your financial statements accurately. Cody offers an industry-specific, risk-based approach to accounting and will tailor an attestation plan to your unique organizational structure. Contact Cody Ravalli, CPA, to get started.