Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services: Clarification and Recodification

The Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) has issued Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 21, Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services: Clarification and Recodification. The issuance of SSARS No. 21 represents a major milestone in the ARSC’s project to clarify and revise the standards for reviews, compilations, and engagements to prepare financial statements.

To assist readers to easily locate information, a detailed table of contents is provided at the beginning of the SSARS. This statement recodifies and supersedes all outstanding SSARSs through No. 20, except SSARS No. 14, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information.

SSARS No. 21 is effective for reviews, compilations, and engagements to prepare financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2015 but early implementation is permitted.

This statement is a standalone SSARS and is not a codification of all clarified SSARSs. This statement has been codified in AICPA Professional Standards, which contains a complete codification of Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. Practitioners are advised to use the codified version of this SSARS as they prepare to evaluate and update their methodologies, and prepare for changes precipitated by the clarity project.