Robert K. Elliott, KPMG Peat Marwick partner and chair of the AICPA's Special Committee on Assurance Services (the Elliott Committee), has been quite influential in awakening the profession to the obsolescence of financial statement audits and to the need for innovative value-added assurance services. In the following series of insightful and accessible articles, he has highlighted the role of information technology in the creation of post-industrial wealth, and framed the scope of potential assurance services to replace financial statement audits as a dominant revenue source for major public accounting firms.

• Elliott, R. K. "The Third Wave Breaks on the Shores of Accounting," Accounting Horizons (June 1992), pp. 62-85.

• . "The Future of Audits," ]ournal of Accountancy (September 1994), pp.74-82.

• . "Confronting the Future: Choices for the Attest Function," Accounting Horizons (September 1994), pp. 106-124.

• . "AICPA Assurance Services Committee: What is the Future of Auditing,"

Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance (Winter 1994-95), pp. 87-97.

• . "The Future of Assurance Services: Implications for Academia," Accounting Horizons (December 1995), pp. 118-127.

The work of the Elliott Committee will likely be influential both in paving the way for new assurance services and in developing assurance standards.

Required:

1. From the articles listed, explain:

a. The role of information technology on the reporting entity and on financial report users.

b. Why financial statement audits may become obsolete and the demand for new assurances services will increase.

c. The likely content of assurance standards.

2. Identify and summarize articles from the business and accounting press (e.g.. The Wall Street Journal, Accounting Today) or from the accounting literature (e.g.. Journal of Accountancy, The CPA Journal) that contradict Elliott. For example: R. Telberg. "CPAs Cautioned on Assurance Services," Accounting Today (Jan. 22-Feb. 11, 1996), pp. 1, 34.