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Attestation Services

Agreed-Upon Procedures

Customized engagements designed to address your specific verification, compliance, or due diligence needs — with findings you can rely on.

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Tailored Procedures, Specific Findings

Agreed-upon procedures (AUP) engagements allow us to perform specific procedures that you and other specified parties have agreed to, and report our findings without providing an opinion or assurance. This flexibility makes AUP engagements ideal for targeted verification needs.

These engagements are conducted in accordance with attestation standards and result in a report of factual findings based on the procedures performed.

Common AUP Applications

  • Royalty and licensing agreement compliance verification
  • Due diligence procedures for acquisitions
  • Grant compliance and expenditure verification
  • Contractual compliance testing
  • Internal control testing for specific processes
  • Revenue sharing and profit participation verification

How It Works

You specify the procedures you need performed, and we execute them and report our findings. This targeted approach provides exactly the information you need without unnecessary scope.

  • Collaborative procedure development with engaging party
  • Execution of specified procedures
  • Detailed reporting of factual findings
  • Results that specified parties can use for their purposes
Decision Support

Agreed-upon procedures work best when the procedures are specific

An AUP engagement is useful for targeted fact-finding, but it does not provide an audit or review conclusion. The value comes from precise procedures, clear criteria, and a report user who understands the findings format.

Who This Is For

  • Businesses, nonprofits, boards, lenders, or investors needing targeted procedures.
  • Teams reviewing specific accounts, compliance steps, schedules, or assertions.
  • Situations where a findings report is more useful than broad assurance.

Documents Usually Needed

  • Written procedure request, criteria, records, and intended users.
  • Schedules, reconciliations, contracts, invoices, or populations to test.
  • Prior reports or lender, grantor, buyer, or board instructions.

What You Receive

  • Procedure scope, records request, and responsibilities before work begins.
  • Testing or comparison of the agreed records to the agreed criteria.
  • Findings report without an audit, review, or assurance conclusion.

When Timing Matters

  • Before transactions, grants, lender reviews, or board decisions.
  • Before the underlying records are changed or become difficult to trace.
  • Before users rely on vague procedures that will not answer the question.

Common Mistakes

  • Using broad language when the procedures need to be exact.
  • Expecting the CPA to draw conclusions beyond the agreed procedures.
  • Skipping user agreement on criteria, population, and reporting format.

Engagement Fit

  • Best fit for narrow procedures with records and criteria already defined.
  • Useful when users need factual findings, not overall assurance.
  • Scope is refined before acceptance so the report answers the right question.
Related answer pages
Audit vs review vs compilation Which report does my lender need?
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Source-Backed Notes

Assurance level matters before the engagement starts

Audit, review, compilation, and agreed-upon procedure work should be scoped around the report users, required assurance level, records available, and applicable professional standards.

AICPA Engagement Levels Audit, review, compilation, and agreed-upon procedures differ by objective, assurance level, and report use. AICPA SSARS SSARS applies to preparation, compilation, and review engagements for unaudited financial statements.
Related pages Audit vs review vs compilation Which report does my lender need?
Bottom Line

When should a business use agreed-upon procedures?

Short answer: Agreed-upon procedures are useful when stakeholders need a CPA to test specific items, transactions, controls, compliance requirements, or due diligence questions without a full audit.

  • Targeted procedures for lender, investor, board, or buyer questions.
  • Flexible scope tied to the facts stakeholders need verified.
  • Findings-based reporting rather than a broad audit opinion.
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Discuss Your AUP Needs

Let's discuss your needs and how we can help you achieve your goals.

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