March 7, 2019, letter commenting on the AICPA's Professional Ethics Division's December 2018 Proposed Interpretation of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, "Staff Augmentation Arrangements"

This letter provides GAO's comments on the proposed interpretation entitled Staff Augmentation Arrangements, which the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) prepared. GAO promulgates generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), which provide professional standards for auditors of government entities in the United States. GAGAS provides a framework for conducting high-quality audits of government awards with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence. Our comments reflect the importance we place on reinforcing the values promoted in both the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and GAGAS. We anticipate that auditors of government entities may have to comply with both the interpretation and GAGAS.