The main difference between audits of governments and not-for-profits and audits of companies is that governments and not-for-profits are more concerned with assuring that the auditee has complied with applicable provisions of laws and respective regulations. Therefore, in this regard, attestation services in government and not-for-profit organizations differ from those carried on in businesses. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Governmental Auditing Standards differ and cover different aspects of the financial reporting process. GAAP defines how businesses, both public and private, prepare their financial statements. Governmental Auditing Standards are a series of rules that define how an independent agent is supposed to review a government agency's financial statements and internal processes.

Since GAAP defines financial reporting standards and GAS defines how government entities are audited, you may think that the two frameworks are closely related. However, GAAP does not apply to government entities. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board determines the financial reporting standards for state and local government entities. The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board determines the financial reporting standards for federal government agencies.