Assurance Services Executive Committee
About the Committee
Vision: A dynamic Profession that continuously evolves to provide high quality, value-added, innovative assurance and advisory solutions in furtherance of the public interest.
Mission: To support the Profession in serving the public interest by continuously anticipating, identifying, assessing and addressing evolving market needs and demand for assurance and advisory solutions.
Objectives: ASEC’s focus is to continuously anticipate, identify, assess and address significant developments and opportunities relating to emerging assurance and advisory needs, and to determine and develop relevant thought leadership, guidance and criteria, tools, or other member support. Accordingly, the primary objectives of ASEC are to:
- Anticipate, identify and assess new service opportunities related to market needs and demands and emerging technologies
- Where needed, develop and communicate assurance and advisory guidance (including, where necessary, underlying suitable criteria)
- Support the innovation of traditional services (e.g. the financial statement audit and existing attestation services) to enhance quality and meet evolving market needs
- Collaborate with industry, government and other specialized groups to enhance members’ ability to efficiently and effectively meet market needs related to new and existing services
- Maintain and evolve existing guidance and criteria developed by ASEC
Committee Task Force Activity
The ASEC Emerging Assurance Technologies Task Force is responsible for developing a conceptual framework and guidance to capitalize on emerging technologies affecting the business information supply chain, covering both internal and external reporting.
Currently two concurrent projects are in process:
Staff Contacts
Erin Mackler, Director - Assurance and Advisory Services, SOC Reporting
Members of the Committee
- Robert Dohrer (Chair), RSM International
- Bradley Ames, HP
- Christine M. Anderson, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP
- Nancy Bumgarner, KPMG LLP
- Jim Burton, Grant Thornton LLP
- MaryGrace Davenport, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Chris Halterman, Ernst & Young,LLP
- Jennifer Haskell, Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Elaine Howle, California State Auditor
- Bryan Martin, BDO
- Brad Muniz, Sobel
- Joanna Purtell, UTC
- Miklos Vasarhelyi, Rutgers Business School
Assurance Services Executive Committee Projects
Whitepaper - How to Design a Credible Verification Program
This whitepaper, which complements the whitepaper, Assurance Services: A White Paper for Providers and Users of Business Information, is intended to assist organizations such as government agencies and legislative bodies (federal, state, tribal and local), business organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and associations that are considering establishing and designing a third-party verification program.
It identifies the essential elements of an effective verification program and the factors that should be considered when designing such a program. It also describes the advantages of including CPAs as assessors in a third-party verification program and incorporating the standards CPAs following into the programs.
Whitepaper - A Whitepaper for Providers and Users of Business Information
This whitepaper was created to educate providers and users of business information on the value and essential qualities of independent, third-party assurance services and the increase confidence in reported information due to those services. The paper identifies factors that should be considered in choosing a quality assurance provider.
Report - Reporting on a PMA or an EPA Used for Electronically Prescribing Controlled Substances
The AICPA has developed an illustrative report to assist CPAs in reporting in an examination of a pharmacy management application (PMA) or an electronic prescription application (EPA) for electronically prescribing controlled substances. The examination is performed under AT-C section 105 Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements, (AICPA, Professional Standards) and AT-C section 205, Examination Engagements (AICPA, Professional Standards), to meet the requirements in Part 1311.300 of the rule requiring that the application provider of an EPA or PMA undergo “a third-party audit of the application” to determine whether it meets specified requirements contained in the rule.