1.7 Assurance Services
Independent professional services that improve the quality or context of information for decision makers. are defined as “independent professional services that improve the quality or context of information for decision makers.” CPAs provide several different types of assurance services for clients. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) actively seeks out opportunities for CPAs to improve the quality of information or its context through providing assurance services. One example of an assurance service provided by CPAs is WebTrust. This service provides assurance to users of websites that the private information they provide to the owner of the website is protected. For example, people who complete online forms containing their name, email address and other information want assurance that the information they enter when completing the form will not be stolen and used by others. While CPAs are not the only individuals who can perform assurance services to improve the quality of information, they are well suited to do so because of the public trust they have gained over the years.
Relationship between Audit, Attest, and Assurance Services
As you might have already gathered, audit, attest, and assurance services are closely related. In fact, an audit is a type of attest service and attest services are a subset of assurance services. Figure 1.1 below graphically illustrates the relationship between audit, attest, and assurance services.
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