<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article relies largely or entirely on a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (February 2008) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article relies largely or entirely on a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (February 2008) </Td> </Tr> <P> In the United States, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is the senior technical committee designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to issue auditing, attestation, and quality control statements, standards and guidance to certified public accountants (CPAs) for non-public company audits . Created in October 1978, it is composed of 19 members representing various industries and sectors, including public accountants and private, educational, and governmental entities . It issues pronouncements in the form of statements, interpretations, and guidelines, which all CPAs must adhere to when performing audits and attestations . </P> <P> The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has issued guidance to accountants and auditors since 1917, when, at the behest of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and auspices of the Federal Reserve Board, it issued a series of pamphlets to the accounting community in regard to preparing financial statements and auditing (then referred to as "verification" and later "examination"). Verification of Financial Statements, the first pamphlet dedicated exclusively to providing guidance for audits, was issued in 1929 . With its opening paragraph, the guidance provided one of the most fundamental principles in auditing, stating that "the responsibility for the extent of the (audit) work required must be assumed by the auditor ." In 1936 the AICPA revised its prior pronouncements and issued Examination of Financial Statements by Independent Public Accountants, which contained more detailed guidance on performing audit procedures for audits of small and mid-sized companies, while still emphasizing the need to perform the audit based on the nature of the client, its size, and its internal control structure, among other attributes . </P>

The aicpa auditing standards board (asb) sets auditing standards for audits of