Assurance

Definition of Client Base

The General Conference Auditing Service serves as the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s preferred provider of assurance and related services. The client base includes all denominational organizations such as General Conference institutions, world divisions and their institutions, unions/union of churches and their institutions, local conferences/missions/regions/field stations and their educational institutions at the secondary level or higher, and Adventist Development and Relief Agency country offices.

Client Base: 2,360


The financial oversight program of the Church includes the following levels of assurance and related services:

Financial Audits

An examination in accordance with International Standards on Auditing, of the assertions management has made on its financial statements resulting in an opinion that provides reasonable assurance on whether those statements are fairly stated in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or other appropriate financial framework.

Financial Reviews

A review, in accordance with International Standards on Review engagements, of an organization’s financial statement comprised of analytical review procedures and inquiries resulting in a report that provides moderate assurance on whether those financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or other appropriate financial reporting framework.

Financial Inspections

An inspection in accordance with standards developed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of an organization’s financial activities resulting in a report related to a set of agreed-upon procedures and supplemented by a letter of recommendations with corrective actions based on findings related to the agreed-upon procedures performed.

Reviews of Trust Operations

A review of trust operations consists of an evaluation of an organization’s compliance with trust accreditation standards and other fiduciary practices for the administration of the assets for which the organization has responsibility as a trustee, personal representative, attorney-in-fact, or in some other fiduciary capacity, and is also designed to make recommendations that will assist in the safeguarding against loss from unauthorized use or disposition and that will assist in ensuring that transactions are executed in accordance with appropriate authorizations and in conformity with the governing instruments, and are recorded properly to permit the preparation of the required financial, tax, and other reports.

Policy Compliance Testing

A compliance test is the examination by an auditor of evidence to determine compliance with General Conference Working Policy, division working policy, and other denominational policies, if any, applicable to the client. The General Conference Executive Committee has identified core policies to be tested, established guidelines for evaluating materiality thresholds, defined agreed-upon procedures, and recommended the manner of reporting noncompliance with General Conference policies.