We all know the importance of keeping track of finances.  Personal, or business, keeping “good books” helps one avoid surprises, audits, and potential fines by the IRS or other taxing authority.  We also know it is always a good idea to have a professional accountant assist with one’s financial records.  In order to do this, we enter into a Financial Reporting Engagement.  Now, this is not the type of engagement which requires rehearsal dinners, flowers, and receptions.  A Financial Reporting Engagement is basically a Statement of Work (S.O.W.) agreement between the accountant and the client detailing what type of financial reporting will be done and can be broken into four main types: financial statement preparation, compilation, review, and audit.  In addition to this type of engagement, there are many other services a CPA firm can provide (payroll, tax preparation, etc.).
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