Professional Standards and Regulatory Requirements
Expect 2-3 MCQs per sitting on the standard-setting hierarchy and applicable standards. The #1 AICPA trap is presenting a private company scenario but offering PCAOB-related answer choices -- candidates who skip the issuer/nonissuer check get burned. A commonly missed detail is that AU-C 200 establishes the auditor's overall objectives (reasonable assurance and reporting) and defines concepts like professional skepticism and professional judgment that thread through every other AU-C section. Key standards: AU-C 200 (overall objectives), AU-C 220 (quality management at the engagement level, per SAS 146), SQMS 1 and 2 (firm-level quality management, effective December 15, 2025), SSARS 21/25, and SSAE 18/19.
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What AICPA Wants You to Know
- 1Identify the standard-setting bodies for audits, reviews, and compilations
- 2Distinguish between AICPA standards (SAS, SSARS, SSAE) and PCAOB standards
- 3Understand the role of the PCAOB in auditing public companies
- 4Explain the quality management standards (SQMS 1 and 2) and their application to CPA firms
- 5Recognize the hierarchy of GAAS and their relationship to professional standards