ZZZZ Best Company How Does a Review Differ from an Audit

ZZZZ Best Company Case Ernst and Whitney never issued an audit opinion on financial statements of ZZZZ Best but did issue a review report on the company’s quarterly statements for the three months ended July 31, 1986. How does a review differ from an audit, particularly in terms of the level of assurance implied by the auditor’s report? While both a review and an audit are attestation services provided by CPAs. A review and an audit differ in that a review does not offer the level of assurance that an audit does, auditors do not look at as much evidence for a review as they would for an audit, and reviews cost less than an audit. SAS No106, â€Å"Audit Evidence†, identifies the principal â€Å"management assertions† that underlie a set of†¦show more content†¦And in the ZZZZ Best case the predecessor Greenspan was not contacted by the successor Ernst and Whitney, although Ernst and Whitney said they tried but wouldn’t disclose what they learned. Did the confidentiality agreement that Minkow required Ernst and Whitney to sign improperly limit the scope of the ZZZZ Best audit? Why or why not? Discuss general circumstances under which confidentiality concerns on the part of a client may properly affect audit planning decisions. At what point do client imposed audit scope limitations affect the type of audit opinion issued? Yes the agreement that Minkow insisted would have affected the scope of the audit, first they did not contact the predecessor auditor, according to Greenspan. The agreement limited the third parties they could contact, making it impossible to obtain outside records and confirm any other type of documents. Making the information given by Minkow totally unreliable. Audit scope limitations imposed by the client affect the opinions that an auditor can give: if the limitations are immaterial then the auditor may give an unqualified report; if the limitations are material, but don’t really affect the financial statements then the opinion given by the auditor may be a qualified opinion with explanations; if the limitations are so material that the financialShow MoreRelatedEssay on ZZZZ Best Company, Inc.: Case Study1340 Words   |  6 Pages------------------------------------------------- ZZZ Best Company, Inc. ------------------------------------------------- Case Study 2 ------------------------------------------------- Due Date: March 30,2010 ZZZ Best, Case 1. Ernst amp; Whinney never issued an audit opinion on financial statements of ZZZZ Best but did issue a review report on the company’s quarterly statements for the three months ended July 31, 1986. How does a review differ from an audit, particularly in terms of the level of assuranceRead MoreAuditing Cases22626 Words   |  91 Pagesor as an illustration of effective or ineffective auditing. Reprinted by permission from Jay C. Thibodeau and Deborah Freier. Copyright  © Jay C. Thibodeau and Deborah Freier; all rights reserved. 1†¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ ( Case 61  ® Enron Enrori’s First Few Years hi~ 1985 Enron had assets along the three major stages of the supply chain of nat ural gas: production, transmission, and distribution. Natural gas was produced from deposits found underground. The natural gas was transmitted via pipe lines, or networks