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AICPA and PCAOB Standards Reference for AUD Review

Use this AUD appendix to place AICPA, PCAOB, and related standards families in the right engagement context.

This appendix chapter is a compact routing point for standards questions in AUD. Use it after the main audit-process lessons when a fact pattern turns on the entity type, engagement type, report framework, or standard setter rather than on a single audit procedure.

The key skill is classification. Before choosing a procedure or report, decide whether the engagement is a nonissuer audit, issuer audit, attestation engagement, review, compilation, preparation service, or specialized regulatory engagement. The standards family follows from that classification.

In This Chapter

Section Review role
A.1 Standards Overview Maps AU-C, PCAOB, SSARS, SSAE, and related standards families to engagement types.
A.2 Structure and Scope Compares AICPA and PCAOB audit standards in scope, independence, internal control, documentation, and reporting.

Standards Classification Framework

Fact pattern clue Likely standards direction
Nonissuer financial statement audit Start with AICPA AU-C standards.
Issuer audit or public-company reporting context Start with PCAOB auditing standards and SEC/PCAOB independence context.
Integrated audit of ICFR and financial statements Apply PCAOB integrated-audit logic, especially AS 2201 concepts.
Review, compilation, or preparation Do not answer as an audit; identify SSARS / AR-C responsibilities.
Examination, agreed-upon procedures, or SOC report Think attestation standards and subject-matter criteria.
Governmental, employee benefit plan, or specialized regulatory context Identify added standards or legal requirements before answering.

Standards Selection Sequence

Step Classification question Standards implication
1. Identify the entity type Is the entity an issuer, nonissuer, governmental entity, employee benefit plan, or specialized regulated entity? Entity type often determines whether PCAOB, AICPA, or supplemental standards apply.
2. Identify the engagement type Is the practitioner performing an audit, review, compilation, preparation, examination, or agreed-upon procedures engagement? The engagement type determines the level of assurance and reporting form.
3. Separate accounting from auditing Is the issue about GAAP recognition or the auditor’s work and report? Accounting standards and auditing standards answer different questions.
4. Check integrated-audit clues Does the fact pattern involve issuer ICFR reporting or a separate internal-control opinion? Integrated audit logic is narrower than ordinary control understanding.
5. Choose the report consequence Does the standards issue affect procedures, documentation, independence, opinion wording, or required communication? The exam answer usually depends on the consequence, not just the standards label.

How to Use This Chapter

  • Use this appendix after the main AUD chapters, not as a first reading pass.
  • Focus on which standards family applies before memorizing individual section numbers.
  • Return here when a question includes labels such as issuer, nonissuer, AU-C, PCAOB AS, SSARS, SSAE, SOC, ICFR, or Yellow Book.
  • If two standards families seem relevant, separate management’s accounting responsibility from the auditor’s performance and reporting responsibility.

Exam Traps to Avoid

  • Applying PCAOB integrated-audit rules to an ordinary nonissuer audit.
  • Treating preparation, compilation, or review engagements as if they provide audit-level assurance.
  • Confusing an accounting update with an auditing standard.
  • Assuming a material weakness always changes the financial statement opinion.
  • Ignoring entity type when a question asks which report or standard applies.

In this section

Revised on Monday, June 15, 2026
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