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Government Auditing Standards 2003 (the Yellow Book)

  • About Government Auditing Standards  
  • What's New
    • GAO invites your comments on the exposure document Government Auditing Standards:  Guidance on GAGAS Requirements for Continuing Professional Education.  This proposed guidance document, when finalized, will replace the April 1991 document entitled Interpretation of Continuing Education and Training Requirements. Please send your comments via e-mail to yellowbook@gao.gov by November 30, 2004. If you would prefer to send written comments, please send them via fax to (202) 512-9193.  For questions about the CPE exposure document, please contact Michael C. Hrapsky at (202) 512-9535.
    • The next meeting of the Comptroller General's Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards will be held on November 8, 2004.  An agenda will be posted one week prior to the meeting.
    • Paragraph 46 of the Interpretation of Continuing Education and TrainingRequirements (April 1991) amended.  Notice of changes (March 2004)
  • Government Auditing Standards  
  • This revision supersedes the 1994 revision, including Amendments 1 through 3.
  • The new standards will be effective for financial audits and attestation engagements of periods ending on or after January 1, 2004, and for performance audits beginning on or after January 1, 2004, although the standards may be applied earlier.
  • Printed copies of the 2003 Revision of the Yellow Book are available for purchase from the Government Printing Office.  To order printed copies of Government Auditing Standards (2003 Revision) at a cost of $17.00 per copy, please contact the Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents at (202) 512-1800 or visit the GPO web site at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.  When ordering the document, please refer to jacket #300-672 or stock # 020-000-00284-1.
  • Question-and-Answer Document on the New Independence Standard
    • Government Auditing Standards:  Answers to Independence Questions  (GAO-02-870G, June 2002)
      • The effective date for the new Independence standard established in  Amendment No. 3 has been extended from October 1, 2002, until January 1, 2003.  The new standard will be effective for all audits for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2003,  Early implementation is encouraged.
      • Printed copies of this document can be ordered through the GAO document distribution center at 202-512-6000.
  • Question:  The GAO guide Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data (GAO-03-273G, October 2002) states in the preface that it supplements GAO’s “Yellow Book.”  What is the authoritative status of this document?  Does it need to be followed in order to comply with GAGAS?
  • Answer:  This document provides useful guidance in implementing the data reliability requirements in GAGAS.  Specifically, it provides a risk-based framework for data reliability assessments that can be geared to the specific circumstances of each audit.  It does not carry the authoritative status of a standard, and is intended to provide helpful guidance in designing and implementing audits.
 

About Government Auditing Standards

Government Auditing Standards (the "Yellow Book") contains standards for audits of government organizations, programs, activities, and functions, and of government assistance received by contractors, nonprofit organizations, and other nongovernment organizations. These standards, often referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), are to be followed by auditors and audit organizations when required by law, regulation, agreement, contract, or policy. These standards pertain to auditors' professional qualifications, the quality of audit effort, and the characteristics of professional and meaningful audit reports. 

To help ensure that Government Auditing Standards (the "Yellow Book") continues to meet the needs of the audit community and the public it serves, the Comptroller General of the United States appointed the Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards to review the standards and recommend necessary changes. The Council includes experts in financial and performance auditing drawn from all levels of government, private enterprise, public accounting, and academia. In February 1997, the Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards endorsed a revised approach of issuing individual standards issue-by-issue. The approach will continue the practice of exposing all revisions for public comment as the Council reaches consensus on a particular issue. The Council will consider those comments in making recommendations to the Comptroller General of the United States in finalizing revisions to the standards. When the Comptroller General issues a revised standard, the electronic version of Government Auditing Standards will be immediately codified, with a periodic codification of the standards into the printed book format. This revised approach was adopted in order to provide more timely revision of the standards for emerging audit issues. 

For More Information

  • For other questions regarding Government Auditing Standards call:
  • Michael C. Hrapsky
    Senior Project Manager, 
         Government Auditing Standards
    U.S. Government Accountability Office
    (202) 512-9535

  • For questions directly related to Government Auditing Standards, our e-mail address is: yellowbook@gao.gov

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10/05/04
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