CPA Report This memo has been prepared in response to Mr. Butterworth’s inquiry on behalf of the independent audit team reviewing XYZ Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABC Company. Specifically this memo addressed the methodology used to determine deferred taxes, the procedure for reporting accounting changes and error corrections, and the rationale behind establishing XYZ Corporation as a subsidiary. Also included in this memo, as requested, is a discussion of the responsibilities of a CPA, and the differences between a financial review report and a financial audit report.

Methodology used to Determine Deferred Taxes

Deferred taxes can be one of two different types of deferred tax entries, permanent or temporary. Permanent deferred tax liabilities are income generating events that do not incur tax liabilities, and thus a permanent adjustment to the financial reports is made to adjust for the discrepancy between income for tax purposes, and income for reporting purposes. A temporary deferred tax liability is a liability where taxable income is different from reportable income, but at some future point, the taxable income will reconcile to the reportable income (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007).

Temporary deferred tax liabilities can result in either an excessive or insufficient amount of tax withheld in the current period, which will be reconciled at a later period. An example is the depreciation of a capital asset. If the book depreciation of a capital asset is at a greater rate than the tax rate depreciation of the same asset, then a discrepancy between the financial income statement and the taxable income statement will exist. This can result in either future tax deductions or tax liabilities depending on the nature of the difference. Temporary deferred tax liabilities are only reported if they are likely to have a significant