The U.S. General Accounting Office
has released an extensive list of questions and answers
about its new independence standard under Government
Auditing Standards, commonly referred to as
the “Yellow Book.” The new standards apply to
federal entities that receive federal funds.
In Jan., the GAO
issued significant changes to the Yellow Book standards
related to auditor independence that substantially
changed existing standards, especially regarding
non-audit or consulting services. The new guidance, Government
Auditing Standards—Answers to Independence Standard
Questions, covers questions on the
independence standards’ effective date,
implementation time frame, underlying concepts and
application in specific non-audit situations.
Although the
original intended implementation date of the independence
standards was for periods beginning on or after Oct. 1,
2002, the GAO has extended the effective date to apply to
all audits beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2003, due to the
breadth of the changes.
The Qs&As
are available on the GAO Web site at:
 www.gao.gov/govaud/d02870g.pdf
|
