Quality management and documentation for SSARS engagements under SSARS No. 26

In this lesson you will

Identify the effective date and scope of SSARS No. 26
Apply the engagement partner responsibilities in AR-C 60.20-.29
Prepare review documentation that meets AR-C 90.137-.139
Connect engagement-level quality to the firm’s SQMS No. 1 system and peer review

What SSARS No. 26 did

SSARS No. 26, issued in June 2022 alongside the AICPA's quality management standards, amends AR-C 60, 70, 80 and 90 so that engagement-level requirements fit a firm system designed under SQMS No. 1. SQMS No. 1 requires the firm's system to be designed and implemented by December 15, 2025. The AR-C amendments are effective for engagements performed under SSARSs for periods ending on or after December 15, 2025, so a calendar-year client's 2025 compilation or review (period ending December 31, 2025) is the first one under the amended text.

The SSARS 25 and 26 summary and the SQMS No. 1 guide cover the firm-level side.

Engagement partner responsibilities

Under the amended AR-C 60:

Resources (AR-C 60.20). The engagement partner should determine that team members have the competence and capabilities, including sufficient time, to perform the engagement.
Overall responsibility (AR-C 60.21). The partner takes responsibility for managing and achieving quality, being sufficiently involved to determine that significant judgments and conclusions are appropriate; for direction, supervision and review; for the report being appropriate; and for following firm policies on acceptance and continuance, resources and documentation.
Ethics (AR-C 60.23-.28). The partner should understand the relevant ethical requirements, make the team aware of them, evaluate threats, stay alert for breaches, and act when requirements are not met. AR-C 60.28 requires the partner, before dating a compilation or review report, to take responsibility for determining that relevant ethical requirements, including independence for a review, have been fulfilled.
Monitoring (AR-C 60.29). The partner should understand information from the firm's monitoring and remediation process, determine its effect on the engagement, and pass relevant information back.

The AR-C 60 application material lets the team depend on firm policies (recruiting and training, independence systems, acceptance procedures) unless experience or monitoring results show they do not work. AR-C 60.A51 notes that SQMS No. 1 requires the firm to obtain, at least annually, documented confirmation of independence from personnel required to be independent.

Review documentation

AR-C 90.137 requires timely documentation sufficient for an experienced accountant with no previous connection to understand the nature, timing and extent of procedures, the evidence obtained and conclusions, and significant matters with the judgments made. AR-C 90.138 lists specific items: the engagement letter, communications about emphasis-of-matter or other-matter paragraphs, significant matter communications, communications with other accountants, how inconsistent information was addressed, the representation letter, and the reviewed statements with the report.

AR-C 90.139 requires you to record who performed the work and when, who reviewed it and the date and extent of review, and, when the engagement is subject to an engagement quality review, the reviewer's identity, the date and extent of that review, and that it was completed before the report was released. Whether a SSARS engagement gets an engagement quality review is set by firm policy under the quality management standards.

Compilations and preparations

SSARS No. 26 also made conforming changes to AR-C 70 and AR-C 80, but the core documentation floors in AR-C 70 and AR-C 80 remain: engagement letter, statements, and for a compilation, the report.

What peer reviewers look for

Sign-offs that show who prepared and who reviewed, with dates, on every review workpaper.
An independence conclusion dated before the report.
Evidence the partner reviewed significant judgments, not just the report.
Firm monitoring findings reflected in engagement changes.

The peer review under quality management guide explains how reviewers test these.

Worked example

A documentation gap at Fairway Dental Group, P.C.

A firm's monitoring inspection of its 2026 SSARS engagements selects the calendar-year review of Fairway Dental Group, P.C., report dated March 12, 2027. SSARS No. 26 applies, because the period ended December 31, 2026, after December 15, 2025.

Findings:

Analytics workpaper signed by the preparer on March 5 with no reviewer sign-off. AR-C 90.139(b) requires who reviewed the work and the date and extent of review.
Team independence confirmations dated March 15, three days after the report. AR-C 60.28 requires the engagement partner to determine ethical requirements, including independence, were fulfilled before dating the report.
The firm's policy requires an engagement quality review for reviews of entities with debt over $5,000,000; Fairway's debt is $6,300,000. The EQR sign-off is dated March 14, after report release on March 13. AR-C 90.139(c) requires documentation that the EQR was completed before release.

Of 18 SSARS review files inspected, 5 had missing reviewer sign-offs (28%, 5 / 18). The firm records the findings in its monitoring log, performs root cause analysis (the review checklist had no EQR release gate), and adds a release block in its workflow so the report cannot be released until the EQR and independence steps are signed.

Self-check

Answer each question before you open the answer.

When does SSARS No. 26 first apply to a client with a June 30 fiscal year-end?
Show answer
To the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, because SSARS No. 26 is effective for periods ending on or after December 15, 2025. The year ended June 30, 2025 follows the prior text.
What must the engagement partner determine before dating a review report under AR-C 60.28?
Show answer
That relevant ethical requirements, including independence, have been fulfilled. The partner takes responsibility for that determination before the report date.
What does AR-C 90.139 require when a review is subject to an engagement quality review?
Show answer
The identity of the engagement quality reviewer, the date and extent of the review, and documentation that it was completed before the review report was released.
Can the engagement team rely on the firm’s independence system?
Show answer
Ordinarily yes. The AR-C 60 application material lets the team depend on firm policies unless its own experience or information such as monitoring results shows they are not effective.

Sources

Back to the syllabus

Standards are paraphrased from the primary sources listed above; read the source before relying on a requirement. This lesson is training material, not professional advice. Report an error