An independent reviewer works in a room of their own — on the statements you sent
The preparing firm sends the statements; a reviewer listed on Achekam, or one invited by e-mail with a one-time code, quotes, asks for evidence, works the ISRE 2400 file and signs. The signed report is written into the statements you sent, and that version is locked.
When an entity needs an independent review, an audit or a compilation by someone other than the firm that prepared its statements, the Assurance Exchange carries the engagement between the two firms. The preparing firm and the practitioner each see their own side; the practitioner's materiality, risk assessment and conclusions are never shown to the entity.
What it covers
- Two sides, kept apart — The preparing firm sends the statements, answers requests with evidence and accepts the fee. The practitioner quotes, asks, reviews and signs through their own Assurance desk — or, without an Achekam account, through an e-mailed link and a one-time code sent to their address.
- The ISRE 2400 working file — The practitioner documents the ISRE 2400 (Revised) procedures in six phases. A paper counts as prepared and reviewed only on its current content: each sign-off keeps the SHA-256 of what it signed, and a paper that changes afterwards reads as unsigned again.
- Requests, letters and the fee on one engagement — Requests for evidence, comments and samples run alongside the engagement. The directors sign the engagement and representation letters through the e-sign engine; the reviewer's invoice, or a payment advice for an external practitioner, is settled on the same file.
- Signing only when the file is complete — Signing needs every paper prepared and reviewed, every request accepted or waived, every comment resolved, the fee cleared, the statements unchanged since they were sent, complete credentials and the signing partner's independence declaration. An audit report is signed only by a registered auditor.
What it does not do
- The conclusion, the opinion and the signature are the practitioner's own: nothing here concludes for them, by AI or otherwise.
- Achekam records the credentials a practitioner enters; it does not check them against the regulator's register.
The standard behind it
ISRE 2400 (Revised), ISRS 4410 (Revised) and the ISAs, Companies Act 71 of 2008, section 30 and Regulations 28 and 29. Whether an entity needs an audit, an independent review or neither follows from its Public Interest Score and how its statements were compiled; the practitioner's standard follows from that.
Questions
- Can our firm invite a reviewer who is not on Achekam?
- Yes. An external practitioner receives an e-mailed link and a one-time code, and works in the same room with the same powers as a listed firm. They send a payment advice instead of an invoice.
- Can another firm compile the statements we prepared?
- Yes. Another firm's officer can compile them under ISRS 4410 (Revised), or act as the accounting officer of a close corporation or a non-profit, and sign the report in their own firm's name. A compilation expresses no opinion.
- What does the entity see?
- Only what is addressed to management: the inquiries, the letters to accept or sign and the unadjusted differences to respond to.
