Assurance service offered by Philippine accounting/auditing firms

Assurance service pertains to independent professional services designed to improve the quality of information, or its context, for decision making. In the Philippines, this type of service includes assurances on the reliability of financial and nonfinancial information, business processes and controls, regulatory compliance, and information used in strategic transactions. Based on the foregoing, different practitioners offer not only financial statement audit but also various types of assurance services.

For all Securities & Exchange Commission registered organizations - whether subsidiaries of US domestic registrants or foreign private investors - that need to comply with the requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), assurance providers offer services to achieve compliance.

The assurance providers attest to the managements assessment of the effectiveness of the company's internal controls over financial reporting and include their findings in the company's annual report to shareholders. Different firms are currently offering SOX compliance to US-listed companies or subsidiaries of foreign companies such as PLDT and Shell.

Another assurance service is due diligence. It is used to investigate and evaluate a business opportunity. It is conducted to confirm that the business is what it appears to be and avoid a bad business transaction. Due diligence is very much helpful during company takeovers or when a company wishes to go public.

Before fully acquiring back Coca-cola Philippines from San Miguel, Coca-cola Atlanta asked an assurance provider to conduct due diligence procedures. Aside from audit, attest services offering different levels of assurance about management's assertions include review and agreed-upon procedures.