what are generally accepted auditing standards gaas 
generally accepted auditing standards gaas are a set of systematic guidelines used by auditors when conducting audits of companies financial records gaas helps to ensure the accuracy consistency and verifiability of auditors actions and reports the auditing standards board asb of the american institute of certified public accountants aicpa created gaas its members agree to adhere to the standards 1investopedia paige mclaughlinunderstanding generally accepted auditing standards gaas gaas are the auditing standards that help measure and ensure the quality of audits auditors review and report on the financial records of companies according to the generally accepted auditing standards auditors are tasked with determining whether the financial statements of public companies follow generally accepted accounting principles gaap gaap is a set of accounting standards that public companies must follow when reporting their true and accurate financial results 1auditors review a company s financial records and accounting practices to ensure that they re consistent and comply with gaap the securities and exchange commission sec requires that the financial statements of public companies be examined by external independent auditors 2while gaap outlines the accounting standards that accountants must follow gaas provides the auditing standards that auditors must follow requirements for gaasgenerally accepted auditing standards gaas comprise 10 standards divided into the following three sections 3gaas vs gaapwhile gaas refers to the auditing standards that auditors follow to produce a reliable and transparent audit report gaap relates to accounting standards that companies follow when recording and reporting financial activities events auditors use gaas when reviewing the financial records of companies that most likely use gaap and producing audit reports gaas auditing standards were issued by the american institute of certified public accountants aicpa 1the accounting principles enumerated by gaap were issued by the financial accounting standards board fasb 4gaap is intended to ensure consistency among financial records financial transparency and protection from fraud or misleading company reports use of gaap provides investors and creditors with the assurance of a reliable standard of accounting it simplifies the examining of financials of individual companies as well as comparisons with others 