What AICPA SSAE No. 21 (September 2020) - Direct Examination Engagements (AT-C Section 206) requires
Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 21, Direct Examination Engagements, was issued by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board in September 2020. It creates AT-C section 206, Direct Examination Engagements, supersedes SSAE No. 18 AT-C section 205, Examination Engagements (which is recast as assertion-based examination engagements), and amends AT-C section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements. In a direct examination engagement the practitioner measures or evaluates the underlying subject matter against the criteria and performs other procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to express an opinion in a written report that conveys the results of that measurement or evaluation; the responsible party does not provide an assertion about the results of the measurement or evaluation. Under AT-C 206 paragraph .05 the practitioner is not required to request a written assertion from the responsible party, but must apply the other requirements of AT-C section 205 unless a requirement cannot be applied because of the nature of a direct examination engagement. By contrast, in an assertion-based examination engagement (AT-C 205, the basis for SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations) a party other than the practitioner measures or evaluates the underlying subject matter against the criteria and provides an assertion about the outcome, and the practitioner opines on the subject matter or the assertion. SSAE No. 21 amendments are effective for practitioners reports dated on or after June 15, 2022. Direct examination expands the attestation toolkit for engagements where the responsible party cannot or does not measure the subject matter itself, including emerging subject matter such as sustainability metrics, controls implementation, and compliance postures.
Pillar: Banking & Global Finance · Authority: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board; SSAE No. 21, Direct Examination Engagements, issued September 2020; AICPA Professional Standards AT-C section 206; supersedes SSAE No. 18 AT-C section 205 as previously titled and amends AT-C section 105 · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/download/aicpa-statement-on-standards-for-attestation-engagements-no-21
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- AICPA Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 21, Direct Examination Engagements, issued September 2020 by the Auditing Standards Board (AICPA, Professional Standards, AT-C sec. 206; supersedes SSAE No. 18 AT-C section 205, Examination Engagements; amends AT-C section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements)
- SSAE No. 21, AT-C section 206 paragraph .05: in performing a direct examination engagement, the practitioner is not required to request a written assertion from the responsible party; the practitioner is required to apply the other requirements in AT-C section 205 unless the requirement cannot be applied as written because of the nature of a direct examination engagement
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