July 15, 2009, letter commenting on the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) April 2009 Exposure Draft for a proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS), entitled "Subsequent Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts"

This letter provides the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) comments on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) American Institute of Certified Public Accountants's (ASB) proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) on subsequent events and subsequently discovered facts in an audit of financial statements. Generally, we support the proposed statement and agree that the standard appropriately addresses the auditor's responsibilities to consider subsequent events and subsequently discovered facts in a financial statement audit. In particular, we support the clarification and enhancement of the auditor's responsibilities related to subsequently discovered facts that become known to the auditor after the report release date and believe these provisions will help improve transparency and consistency of practice in this area.