What is the Attest Function?

The attest function is the process of conducting an examination of an entity’s financial statements by a third party, where the outcome is the third party’s formal certification that the financial statements fairly present the entity’s financial results and financial position. The attest function is the primary role of the certified public accountant. Without the attest function, the investment community would have no way of verifying that the financial statements of the organizations in which they invest are accurate.

What Activities are Involved in the Attest Function?

The main activities involved in the attest function are as follows:

Planning the audit and conducting a risk assessment.
Gathering evidence through a variety of audit procedures.
Evaluating the evidence collected by the audit team, to see if it is sufficiently detailed to support the team’s opinion regarding the client’s financial statements. This can result in more evidence gathering.
Forming an opinion regarding the fairness of presentation of the client’s financial statements. This opinion is then documented in an audit report, which must accompany the client’s financial statements.
Issuing the audit report to the client’s audit committee, along with any commentary from the audit team regarding issues found.