The Securities and Exchange Commission last week approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's Auditing Standard No. 4. (Click here to download the standard.) This standard applies when auditors report whether a previously reported material weakness in a company's internal control over financial reporting continues to exist after a date specified by management. The standard establishes a stand-alone engagement that is entirely voluntary, performed only at the company's request after the company has disclosed a material weakness in internal control.
The PCAOB's auditing standards provide guidance to not-for-profit healthcare organizations choosing to comply with the internal control and other requirements the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act placed on public companies. Auditing Standard No. 2, approved by the SEC in June 2004, addresses audits of internal control over financial reporting required by Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley. (Click here to download the standard.)
