The service provider typically prepares the Letter of Engagement, be it a law firm, accounting agency, consultancy, or any professional offering services.
Who Prepares a Letter of Engagement? 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.
Your designated audit firm will prepare the specific terms of engagement using the appropriate AICPA-issued engagement letter template. It should be noted that there are many terms for audit engagements that are deemed required by the AICPA and therefore unable to be negotiated.
It is in the interests of both the entity and the auditor that the auditor sends an audit engagement letter before the commencement of the audit to help avoid misunderstandings with respect to the audit.
Engagement letters set expectations for both the client and the party providing the service, it specifies the exact service or task to be performed by the firm and the information to be provided by the client. All engagement letters also generally contain various deadlines for each sub-task.
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.
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.
The content of an engagement letter often includes important details such as the scope of services to be provided, fees or billing arrangements, confidentiality clauses, dispute resolution mechanisms, and any other relevant terms agreed upon by both parties.
This standard focuses on the auditor's responsibility of reaching out an understanding with the client over the audit engagement. Key recommendations include: Documenting the audit scope, objectives, and limitations. Specifying management's responsibilities, including the preparation of financial statements.
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.