The engagement letter is required to be signed by those that are deemed authorized representatives of the engaging party. For an audit firm, the engagement letter should be signed by one of the partners of the firm.
An engagement letter is drafted by the company rendering the service, often with the help of a lawyer. It is than presented to the client, and both parties must sign in order for it to be legally binding.
In summary, both the auditing firm and the organization being audited must sign the SOC report, with the organization signing the Management Assertion and Representation and the auditor signing the independent Auditors opinion within the SOC report.
8 Critical Elements of an Effective Engagement Letter CLIENT NAME. The first critical element may seem obvious—the identities of the parties involved in the engagement. SCOPE OF SERVICES. CPA FIRM RESPONSIBILITIES. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES. DELIVERABLES. ENGAGEMENT TIMING. TERMINATION AND WITHDRAWAL. BILLING AND FEES.
An engagement letter is drafted by the company rendering the service, often with the help of a lawyer. It is than presented to the client, and both parties must sign in order for it to be legally binding.
Purpose of Engagement Letters It's the responsibility of the service provider to draft this document in alignment with the services to be rendered and in compliance with legal and professional standards.
For an engagement letter to be binding, there must be agreement to the terms on both sides. The engagement letter is drafted and, in most cases, signed by the firm, therefore there is clear evidence of the agreement of the contents of the letter on the firm's side.
Engagement letters set the terms of the agreement between two parties and include details such as the scope, fees, and responsibilities, among others. Some of the benefits of engagement letters are that they are legally binding documents, they reduce misunderstandings, and they set clear expectations.
This section introduces the five primary goals your engagement planning will want to consider: informing, consulting, involving, collaborating, and empowering (Bassler et al, 2008).