Which auditor covers each year after an audit-firm change?

A business changes audit firms and later sends a two-year financial statement package to a lender. The current auditor's name appears prominently, but that does not establish that the new firm audited both years. Read the reports and identify the statements and periods each one covers before describing the package as audited by a particular firm.

For PCAOB reporting, AS 3105 addresses both reissuance of a predecessor auditor's report and circumstances in which that report is not presented. In the latter situation, the successor's report identifies the predecessor's work, report date, opinion type and relevant reasons for a modified report. A reference to another auditor is information about coverage, not an automatic transfer of responsibility for that auditor's period.

This guide concerns reading a package that refers to PCAOB standards. Other audit frameworks have their own requirements. Check the standards identified in the report and ask the accountant to explain any different arrangement. The key practical question remains precise: who reported on which statements, for which period, and in which version?

List the balance sheet dates and the periods covered by the income, cash flow and other statements. Beside each, record the auditor identified by the issued reports, the report date and the opinion. Do not infer the coverage of every statement from a year printed on the cover. A balance sheet date and a period of operations describe different information.

In a hypothetical package, Firm A audited the prior year's statements and Firm B audited the current year's statements. Both years now appear in adjacent columns. A useful coverage map records those two assignments separately and points to the report or reference supporting each one. It does not replace Firm A with Firm B merely because Firm B helped assemble the current package.

If the current report expressly covers additional periods, record that actual scope. Conversely, if a comparative period is labeled unaudited, preserve that label in your summary. The map should follow the documents rather than a general expectation about how audit transitions usually work.

A successor report may refer to the earlier audit without including the predecessor's full report in the same document. Read that reference carefully. Identify the earlier report date, the opinion described and any explanation of a departure from an unqualified opinion. Do not stop at the sentence saying the earlier statements were audited by another firm.

Consider whether the information provided meets the purpose for which you need the statements. A lender, transaction counterparty or internal policy may require a particular package. Obtain clarification from the responsible recipient where necessary. A reader should not decide privately that a reference is interchangeable with a document that the recipient specifically requested.

If you obtain a separate copy of the old report, confirm that it belongs to the statements you are reviewing. Check the entity, dates, reporting basis and version. An old PDF may be useful historical evidence but may not answer whether its report is appropriate for the current comparative presentation. Ask the company and its advisers to resolve that question.

Seeing an earlier date on a predecessor's report inside a current package can be confusing. Under AS 3105, reissuance involves considering whether the previous report remains appropriate. The standard also explains the use of the earlier date to avoid suggesting that the predecessor examined later records or events; revisions or adjusted statements can require different dating treatment.

Do not treat the date as an administrative defect that staff should update to make the package look current. The date conveys something about the report and the work to which it relates. If its meaning is unclear, ask for an explanation rather than changing the PDF or asking an administrator to replace the year.

Keep a separate record of when the company delivered the package and which version you received. That delivery date is useful for your process, but it is different from the audit report date. A newly received document can contain a properly dated earlier report without implying that the predecessor performed a new audit of the latest period.

Compare the prior-period figures in the current package with the earlier statements if your decision depends on their continuity. A restatement, reclassification or other change can affect the relationship between the old report and the current comparative information. Locate the explanatory note and ask who has addressed the reporting consequences.

Do not attach the original report to a revised comparative schedule on your own initiative. The predecessor and successor may need to coordinate their respective work and reporting. The reader's role is to identify the mismatch and obtain the appropriate issued documents, not to decide that an unchanged total makes every alteration harmless.

Keep the issue specific. Identify the statement line, original amount, current amount and relevant disclosure. That gives management and the auditors a clear question to resolve. A broad request to confirm all historical information is less useful than showing the exact difference that affects the package you plan to rely on.

If a transaction requires two years of audited statements, give the responsible recipient the actual coverage map and reports. Ask whether the scope, periods and presentation meet that requirement. A summary email saying the company has a new auditor does not establish the answer. Keep any acceptance or request for further information with the transaction file.

Track outstanding items separately from the completed current-year audit. A predecessor report, clarification of a comparative adjustment or a missing statement may still need attention. Assign each item an owner and a delivery date without representing it as completed. This helps the business plan a closing timetable using the documents actually available.

When the package is complete, retain the statements, notes and reports together in their issued form. Label subsequent replacements clearly and update any copies used in the transaction process. A reliable record shows which firm covered each period and why the reports belong with the accompanying statements. The audit-firm change then becomes an understood part of the history rather than a hidden assumption in the reader's decision.