SSARS in Force for 2026: What SSARS 25, 26 and 27 Changed for Reviews and Compilations

Searches for "SSARS 22" lead nowhere useful for a review or compilation file. SSARS No. 22 exists, but it is a narrow standard: it covers compilations of pro forma financial information. The standards that reshaped everyday reviews and compilations are SSARS 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and, for periods ending on or after December 15, 2026, SSARS 27. This post gives the dated map as of November 5, 2026.

The base standards are explained in the AR-C 80 compilation guide, the AR-C 90 review walkthrough and the AR-C 70 preparation guide. For how the three services compare, see compilation vs review vs audit.

The timeline at a glance

SSARS 21 and 23: the foundation

SSARS 21 turned one compilation-and-review framework into separate engagements: preparation of financial statements (AR-C 70, a nonattest service), compilation (AR-C 80) and review (AR-C 90), all under the general principles of AR-C 60. Preparation carries no report, but each page of the statements states that no assurance is provided. When the accountant cannot place that statement on each page, the accountant issues a disclaimer, performs a compilation or withdraws.

SSARS 23 followed in October 2016. It clarified that an oral understanding of engagement terms is not enough and added withdrawal as an option when the "no assurance" statement cannot go on each page.

SSARS 22: pro forma compilations only

SSARS No. 22, Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information, superseded the pre-clarity AR section 120. It is codified as AR-C 120 and applies to pro forma reports, not to the historical statements most firms compile and review.

SSARS 25: the review changes that matter most

SSARS 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions, amends AR-C 60, 70, 80 and 90 for periods ending on or after December 15, 2021. Four changes carry into every current file:

1. Materiality is an explicit requirement. The accountant determines materiality for the financial statements as a whole and applies it in designing procedures and evaluating results. The standard prescribes no format; a short memo with benchmark, percentage and rationale satisfies it.
2. Procedures cover all material items, disclosures included. The accountant designs the analytical procedures and inquiries to address all material items in the statements, including disclosures, and the areas of increased risk of misstatement.
3. Modified conclusions replace the old prohibition. Before SSARS 25 the accountant was barred from stating that the statements were not in accordance with the framework. Now a material misstatement that is not pervasive produces a qualified conclusion, and one that is both material and pervasive produces an adverse conclusion. See review report modifications.
4. The report states the independence requirement. The review report says the accountant is required to be independent of the entity and to meet other ethical responsibilities.

SSARS 25 also changed the test for compiled statements that omit substantially all disclosures. The earlier test asked whether the omission was undertaken with the intention of misleading users. The amended AR-C 70 and AR-C 80 ask whether, in the accountant's professional judgment, the statements would be misleading to users. See omitted disclosures and independence in compilation reports.

SSARS 26: quality management reaches the engagement

SSARS 26, issued in June 2022, amends AR-C 60, 70, 80 and 90 for periods ending on or after December 15, 2025. It was issued alongside SQMS No. 1 (which superseded SQCS No. 8), SQMS No. 2 on engagement quality reviews and SAS No. 146. Together these are the quality management standards.

For SSARS engagements the effect is concrete:

• The engagement partner has overall responsibility for managing and achieving quality on the engagement, and must be sufficiently and appropriately involved throughout.
• Review documentation records who performed each piece of work and when, who reviewed it for engagement quality control and when, and, where an engagement quality review applies, the reviewer's identity and that the review was completed before the report was released.
• A technical revision to AR-C 90 paragraph .16, effective on issuance in June 2022, removed the requirement that the review engagement letter be obtained before the review starts. The change aligns reviews with preparation, compilation and the auditing and attestation standards.

A review file for a December 31, 2025 year-end was the first to fall under SSARS 26. Every file for a later period end falls under it now.

SSARS 27: the preparation exception

SSARS 27, published April 7, 2025, is titled Applicability of AR-C Section 70 to Financial Statements Prepared as Part of a Consulting Services Engagement. It states that a practitioner is not required to apply AR-C 70 when financial statements are a by-product of client advisory services. It is effective for the preparation of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2026, with early application permitted.

The exception turns on the engagement's primary objective. If the main purpose of the work is to produce financial statements, AR-C 70 applies whatever the engagement is called. If financial statements are one component of broader advisory work performed under CS 100, AR-C 70 does not apply. Document the analysis and reflect it in the engagement letter.

SSARS 27 amends AR-C 70 only. A December 31, 2026 year-end is the first period it covers. For the review and compilation practice, the effect is limited to deciding, client by client, which monthly or quarterly statement work is preparation and which is advisory.

What to update in your files

• Review engagement letters and reports: keep the independence statement and the materiality memo in every file.
• Modified conclusions: keep qualified and adverse report templates on hand.
• Quality management: document partner involvement, work-performed and work-reviewed dates, and engagement quality review where it applies.
• Preparation clients: classify each recurring statement engagement against the primary-objective test before December 31, 2026.

Sources

• AICPA, SSARS No. 26, Quality Management for an Engagement Conducted in Accordance With SSARS (June 2022): https://assets.ctfassets.net/rb9cdnjh59cm/3de2ucl8GiBDR19TLMp9yP/f38dfa742630038cbf1e63ca4a167065/ssars-26.pdf
• AICPA, SSARS No. 25, Materiality in a Review of Financial Statements and Adverse Conclusions (February 2020): https://assets.ctfassets.net/rb9cdnjh59cm/5BMOcgkNedJtTs90b7cnrs/b6d98fb77d96db625e9154050be92e2e/92317096_ssars-25.pdf
• AICPA, SSARS No. 25 At a Glance: https://assets.ctfassets.net/rb9cdnjh59cm/37wTF1wRjO6Gg0XZmCAfg5/3eb4c95d450c4c45a693b25690e10ab5/ssars-25-at-a-glance.pdf
• Journal of Accountancy, ARSC completes clarity project (December 2016): https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2016/dec/arsc-completes-clarity-project
• Journal of Accountancy, SSARS No. 24 (compilation and review report, May 2018): https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2018/may/compilation-and-review-report-ssars-24/
• Journal of Accountancy, SSARS No. 21 (October 2014): https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2014/oct/ssars-21-11220/
• PacificCPE, SSARS Nos. 21-23 course text (issue and effective dates, SSARS 23 changes): https://pacificcpe.s3.amazonaws.com/2001A_-_SSAR_21-23.pdf?1559607826
• Thomson Reuters Tax and Accounting, AICPA issues clarification on financial statement standards for client advisory services: https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/news/aicpa-issues-clarification-on-financial-statement-standards-for-client-advisory-services/
• CALCPA, SSARS No. 27: helpful guidance but misunderstood: https://www.calcpa.org/whats-happening/articles/ssars-no-27-helpful-guidance-but-misunderstood

CORAA prepares ready-to-review audit files for US CPA firms from QuickBooks books; you review and sign. See /us.

AU-C references are to AICPA Professional Standards, paraphrased here; read the standard itself before relying on a requirement. This page is guidance, not professional advice. Report an error