Service Details

Audit and
Assurance Services

Assurance your bank trusts and your team can act on.

See the Three Levels
Cooper Norman business advisor reviewing a laptop and financial documents with clients.

Match the level
to the request

A compilation organizes your numbers into financial statements with no assurance attached. A review adds inquiry and analytical procedures and gives limited assurance. An audit tests balances, transactions, and controls and carries an opinion. Smaller credit lines often accept a review; larger loans, bonding programs, and regulators tend to require an audit. Bring us the request letter and we will tell you which level answers it.

Assurance Engagements

  • Compilation, Review, and Audit Engagements
  • Employee Benefit Plan Audits
  • Service Organization Controls (SOC) Reporting
  • Financial Statement Preparation
  • Examinations and Agreed-Upon Procedures

Specialty Services

  • Overhead Rate Audits and FAR Compliance
  • Internal Control Studies
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Merger and Acquisition Due Diligence
Talk With an Assurance Advisor
A Cooper Norman advisor and client review financial dashboards on screen.

Every engagement runs in the same order: scope who asked for the statements and why, plan fieldwork around your close calendar, test what the assurance level requires, and write findings your bank and board can act on.

  1. Step-01

    Scope the request

  2. Step-02

    Plan the fieldwork

  3. Step-03

    Test what matters

  4. Step-04

    Report in plain language

A Cooper Norman advisor and client review financial dashboards on screen.

Not your average audit

Cooper NormanChecklist audit
Scope matched to who asked for the statements
Upfront planning before fieldwork
Document requests built around your close calendarVaries
Employee benefit plan auditsSometimes
SOC engagementsRarely
Findings written for your bank and board

Frequently
asked
questions

What is a FAR audit?
A FAR audit reviews an engineering or architecture firm's overhead rate against Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 31, so state Departments of Transportation and federal agencies can reimburse indirect costs. Cooper Norman performs FAR audits for Idaho and Utah firms billing state and federal contracts, since 1954.
What is the difference between a compilation, a review, and an audit?

A compilation organizes your records into financial statements with no assurance attached. A review adds inquiry and analytical procedures and provides limited assurance. An audit tests balances, transactions, and internal controls and carries an opinion, the highest level of assurance a CPA firm provides.

Who typically asks for each level?

Banks often accept a compilation or review on smaller credit lines and require an audit as exposure grows. Sureties usually want reviewed or audited statements before extending a bonding program. Boards, investors, and regulators generally require an audit. If you are not sure what the request calls for, send us the letter and we will read it with you.

What should management expect during the engagement?

A scoping conversation first, a document request list planned around your close calendar, fieldwork scheduled in advance, and findings written in language your team can act on. The engagement should be prepared, coordinated, and respectful of your staff's time. That is table stakes. The deliverable is the point.

What assurance services do you provide?

Compilation, review, and audit engagements, employee benefit plan audits, Service Organization Controls (SOC) reporting, financial statement preparation, and examinations and other agreed-upon procedures. Specialty work includes overhead rate audits and FAR compliance, internal control studies, budgeting and forecasting, and merger and acquisition due diligence.

How can I contact your team?

Start a conversation through our contact page, or call your local office in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Rexburg, Twin Falls, or Pleasant Grove.

Thomas Ryan, Partner, A&A Lead

Who leads this work

Thomas Ryan, CPA, MACC

Partner, A&A Lead

Thomas Ryan leads audit and assurance at the firm. Requests from banks, boards, and sureties route through his bench.

Insights

Reading for
owner-led businesses

Practical notes on the decisions that reach our desk most often.

160+ArticlesRead the journal
Cooper Norman business tax advisor consulting with clients in an office.

Since 1954 we have learned that assurance is earned
one working paper
at a time.

Start a Conversation