Get Your Finances in Order with Compiled Financial Statements
Compiled financial statements are an asset to your business, but compiling them properly can be a challenge. Not only are accurate statements an essential way to guide your business throughout the upcoming year, but lenders, investors, and others may require you to create dependable financial statements based on certain rules and restrictions.
If you’ve never created a financial statement before, or if you simply want to ensure that your review or audit goes well, hire a professional. You and your management team can learn a lot from pairing up with a professional to create compiled financial statements.
The first step to ensuring your business’s finances
Before you can even decide whether your financial statements need to be reviewed or audited, they have to be created. Working together with management, a professional CPA will provide you with sufficient documentation that provides a clear understanding of the work that has been completed. Documentation includes:
- An engagement letter
- Any significant issues that were discovered
- Any communications to management regarding fraud or illegal acts
- A written report that states the information has not been audited or reviewed, which means it does not express an opinion or provide any assurance that the financial statements are in accordance with the necessary financial reporting framework
Knowledgeable and experienced
The main reason to hire a professional to assist your management team in creating compiled financial statements is because they have sufficient industry-level experience. Unlike the members of your team who focus on creating financial statements just once a year, a professional has created dozens, if not hundreds, of accurate financial statements over the years.
In addition, a professional will obtain the necessary knowledge about the client and business in order to compile the financial statements. When teamed up with others in your company, a Long Beach CPA can ensure that every aspect of the report is carefully considered.
Part of your team
When hiring a CPA to complete your business’s financial statements, you’re essentially inviting another professional onto your team. If you’re looking for assistance creating compiled financial statements for your business, click here.
Compiled financial statements FAQ
Why hire a professional if I can just create financial statements myself?
You can definitely create all your financial statements yourself, which means you may not have to hire a professional. However, the experience your team has creating financial statements should be considered.
If your team has been creating compiled financial statements for your business for years, or if you’ve hired a full-time accountant or CPA, you may not need to reach out for help. However, if you haven’t been in business for very long, or if your team isn’t very experienced creating detailed, compliant financial statements, you may want to consider professional help.
Can I hire a professional even if I’m going to have the compiled financial statements reviewed or audited?
Yes! As a matter of fact, hiring a professional can make the review or auditing process go much more smoothly. A CPA is well-versed in all the proper accounting frameworks, as well as areas of a statement that require extra attention. They know what questions to ask and what kinds of information needs to go where. They can save your team a lot of time and effort because they have so much experience. By saving you time, a professional is also able to help you save money.
If my business’s compiled financial statements are professionally created, do I really need to have them reviewed or audited?
The answer to this question depends on your unique situation. If you have lenders, investors, or other parties that are heavily invested in the success of your business, they will likely demand a review or an audit.
If your company is privately held, or if your finances are fairly simple, basic compiled financial statements may do. However, it is worth noting that the CPA will not provide any assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements. If you’re looking for reassurance that your financial reports are correct and accurate, you’ll definitely want to consider a review or an audit.