May 29, 2009, letter commenting on the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board January 2009 Exposure Draft for a proposed Statement on Auditing Standards entitled "Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements"

This letter provides the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) comments on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Auditing Standards Board's (ASB) proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) on the consideration of laws and regulations in an audit of financial statements. Generally, we support the proposed statement and agree that the standard appropriately addresses auditor responsibilities to consider laws and regulations in a financial statement audit.