Clients with lending or other contractual requirements for audited or reviewed financial statements can benefit from a managed approach to the attestation process. Rather than standing back and letting things happen or abandoning your business to keep an eye on the auditors, you can relax, secure in the knowledge that your interests are being protected. Traditionally the auditor was viewed as an advisor and, although independent, an extension of management. The accounting scandals uncovered at Enron, Worldcom, Global Crossing and others have resulted in profound changes in the accounting, and specifically the auditing, profession. The Sorbanes-Oxley Act, while directed at public companies, drives a wedge between the auditor and the client making it more difficult and more expensive for the typical small business owner to comply with audit requirements. We do not replace the independent accountant who audits your financial statements. Rather, we work with your independent accountant and manage the audit process so that you can still run your business. We can negotiate fees and review and negotiate audit work plans so that necessary work is done efficiently and unnecessary work is not done at all. Working with clients and with auditors we can ensure that the underlying accounting documentation is available when needed and in useable form. We can coordinate the use of client staff or our own to perform PBC ("prepared by client") work minimizing the time required by more expensive audit staff. Finally, as your independent accountant will point out, the financial statements are yours so they might as well tell your financial story in its best light while complying with applicable standards. We can document and articulate your position on controversial issues so that your financial statements are not presented in the most conservative form, just to be safe, or the way the auditor likes to see them, but are realistic presentations of your company's financial health, in conformity with applicable standards, but as useful as possible. The benefits are realized in the form of: · lower audit fees, · better relationships with your independent accountant and lender, and · reduced demands on you and your staff.