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Materiality
The Sarbanes-Oxley requirement for companies to develop key control processes has brought new attention to the well-known concept of materiality. CPAs need to be able to identify key control exceptions and apply materiality to determine their financial impact.
First we need to know what material is; in accounting something that is material is something that is significant. Material information is something that would vastly affect the financial statements of a company. If that material is omitted or misstated it could influence the economic decision. An example of material information is if a company owes $1,000,000 to another company, it is immaterial if they owe $1,000. Since the idea of what is material can very complex CPA must use quantities estimates to identify what can be potential issues with materiality. It is not a simple calculation but it is a determination of will verse what will not affect a decision. (Accounting Simplified 2010-2013)
Since the implementation of SOX CPA’s need assistance in helping management meet responsibilities, under SOX section 302 companies must review their disclosure of controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, they need to show all important control exceptions and they must: determine deficiencies in internal control, asses their impact on the presentation of financial statements that are fair and show and report any significant control or material deficiencies. There are four key perspectives under SOX of working with materiality and CPA’s must fully understand all four perspectives to be able to estimate the effects. The right process must be every accountant’s goal in providing fair, accurate and complete financial information, the four perspectives of materiality are: (J.B. Brady, 2005) 1. Misstatements or Errors - incorrectly recorded financial statements amounts OR financial amounts that should

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