Audit & Assurance Services
One of the keys to a successful business or organization is a clear understanding of your data—including a full picture of your financial standing. With LSWG’s audit and assurance services, you can ensure you have accurate financial data to back up your decisions, as well as comprehensive professional suggestions from our team of experts.
Whether you are an owner-managed business, nonprofit organization, local government entity, or require a Single Audit, audit of your 401(k), ESOP, pension, or profit-sharing plan, look to LSWG for timely, accurate, and understandable financial statements to gauge your performance and the strength of your financial position.
LSWG can prepare your financial statements and perform the appropriate services to meet the requirements of your lender, investor, board of directors or shareholders.
Basic Financial Statement Preparation
- Intended for business owner’s use to manage the business (similar to what an in-house controller or CFO would provide for management in a larger company)
- May fulfill some lenders’ documentation requirements for small loans
We are available to prepare your financial statements as needed on a schedule you determine—typically in conjunction with bookkeeping or transaction processing (e.g., monthly, quarterly or annually). Because your financial statements would be prepared directly from the records you provide, this level of service does not come with our verification of the accuracy or completeness of the information and no formal report is issued.
Compilation
- Intended for use by lenders and other outside parties who may appreciate the business’s association with a CPA without requiring a level of assurance on the accuracy of the financial statements
- Typically appropriate when initial or lower amounts of financing or credit are sought or significant collateral is in place
If you need your business or organization’s financial statements compiled into formats backed by current accounting principles, ready for review by your management team—without an opinion or assurance from us, then a compilation is what you want.
Lenders and other outside parties who appreciate the business’s association with a CPA without requiring a level of assurance on the accuracy may also request compiled financial statements.
Review
- Intended to provide lenders and other outside parties with a basic level of assurance on the accuracy of financial statements
- Typically appropriate as a business grows and is seeking larger and more complex levels of financing and credit
More involved than a compilation but not as thorough as an audit, a review consists of analytical procedures applied to your financial statements and inquiries and other procedures to obtain “limited assurance” on the financial statements. Frequently sought by lenders as a business grows, a review provides a basic level of assurance as to the accuracy of your financial statements.
Audit
- Intended to provide creditors, investors and other outside parties with a high level of comfort on the accuracy of financial statements
- Typically appropriate—and often required—when seeking high levels of financing or outside investors, or when selling a business
If you are seeking the highest level of assurance, then an audit is what you need. The LSWG audit team will conduct a methodical review and objective examination and confirmation of account balances, inventories, and selected transactions. We check over your financial statements, giving reasonable assurance that they’re free of material misstatements and ready to present to boards, public bodies, or investors.
Whether you need a quick compilation in advance of a board retreat or a full-service audit with recommendations, the LSWG team can help your business or organization get on the right track.
Audit and Assurance Service Areas
Learn how to prepare your nonprofit for an audit on our blog.