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Compare/Bookkeeping firms

CORAA vs outsourced bookkeeping firms.

A bookkeeping firm keeps the client’s books. CORAA works from books someone else keeps and drafts your audit working papers. The two services sit on opposite sides of the client’s ledger.

Side by side

CriterionFulfilled by CORAAThe alternative
What it producesAudit working papers for your engagement.The client’s books.
Whose recordsWorks from the books the client or its bookkeeper keeps. CORAA never keeps a client’s books.Keeps and posts the client’s books.
Who it servesYour firm. CORAA works only with CPA firms and never with their clients.The client, or your firm’s clients.
Relationship to the attest reportNone. Your firm reviews and signs.The books the report is about.
Clean-up of messy booksMessy books are included in the flat fee. Issues are flagged in the file, not corrected in the ledger.Correction and clean-up of the books is part of the service.
Pricing structureA flat fee per audit, set by entity size.Set by the provider.

Why the distinction matters to your firm

Your firm evaluates independence for any nonattest service it provides to an attest client. If your firm also offers bookkeeping, the independence guide and the evaluation form on this site walk through the questions to ask.

CORAA does not post to or correct a client’s ledger. It reads the ledger, tests it and reports what it finds to your firm.

What your firm does either way

Whether you use CORAA or use a bookkeeping firm, these responsibilities do not move.

Accepting the client
Client acceptance, the engagement letter and the independence evaluation are your firm’s.
Reviewing the work
Your manager and partner review the file as they would any staff-prepared file, and document that review.
Signing the report
Your firm issues the report. CORAA never signs, issues or reports on anything.

Free resources for this work

Guides, templates and calculators on this site that cover the same ground. All free to use.

GuideAICPA Independence for Small Firms: Nonattest Services, Threats, Safeguards and a Decision ProcessTemplateNonattest Services Independence Evaluation FormTemplateBookkeeping Services Engagement LetterGuideQuickBooks Cleanup Before the Audit: What to Fix First and a Client Readiness ListGuideAudit Readiness Checklist for Clients: What to Hand Over, by Audit AreaGuideCash-Basis and Tax-Basis Financial Statements: Special Purpose Frameworks for Audits, Reviews and Compilations

Questions firms ask

No. CORAA flags issues in the file and never changes the client’s ledger. The client or its bookkeeper makes corrections.
No. Messy books are included in the flat fee, never a surcharge.
No. We work only with CPA firms and contact your client only if you ask us to.
The audit readiness checklist and the QuickBooks clean-up guide on this site are written for exactly that. Both are free.
Your first audit is free. After that, a flat fee per audit, set by the size of the entity: revenue, transactions and number of entities. Messy books are included, never a surcharge.

Sources: AICPA Statements on Auditing Standards, currently effective

More in compare
CompareCORAA vs generic audit softwareA tool your staff operate, compared with a finished file.CompareCORAA vs hiring remote contractors directlyYour firm as employer or contracting party, compared with a finished file from CORAA Network reviewers.CompareCORAA vs staffing agenciesA placed temporary worker supervised by your team, compared with a finished file.
For US CPA firms

Join the CORAA waitlist

CORAA AI drafts audit working papers from your client’s QuickBooks books and does the first pass: lead schedules, tie-out, memos, draft notes and letters. CORAA Network reviewers clear every finding. Your firm reviews and signs.

  • First audit free, so you can judge the quality on a real file
  • Flat fee by entity size; messy books included
  • We work only with CPA firms, never their clients
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