Suppose you are a senior manager in Amex & Co, a small firm of Chartered Certified Accountants, which specializes in providing audits and financial statement reviews for small to medium-sized companies. You are responsible for evaluating potential assurance engagements, and for producing a brief report on each prospective piece of work to be used by the partners in your firm when deciding whether to accept or decline the engagement. Amex & Co. is keen to expand the assurance services offered, as a replacement for revenue lost from the many smallcompany clients choosing not to have a statutory audit in recent years.

Dura Co has been an audit client of Amex & Co. for the past three years. The company owns and operates a chain of retail outlets selling pet supplies. The finance director of Dura Co. recently communicated with your firm to enquire about the provision of an assurance report