AICPA Releases Guidance On Conflict Minerals Audit

Under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act some issuers will have to undergo an independent private-sector audit (IPSA) after they file. Issuers can have their IPSA conducted as either an attestation engagement performed by a CPA or a performance audit preformed by a wider range of professionals. The AICPA has recently released additional guidance regarding the IPSA due to many companies not knowing what to expect, as this is the first year of reporting. 

The objective of the audit is to discover if the design of an issuer’s due diligence framework, as set forth in their Conflict Minerals Report (CMR), is in conformity with the nationally recognized due diligence framework used by the issuer and consistent with the process they undertook.  The focus is on the due diligence measures undertaken by the issuer and not on the conclusions that the issuer drew from the procedures.

To get to the auditing step, issuers first have to file a CMR which many are discovering that is not as straightforward as expected due to a myriad of challenges: depth and complexity of global supply chains, language barriers, political obstacles, confidentiality concerns, supplier resistance, as well as the sensitive nature of the materials being traced.  Source Intelligence helps companies get to this step with their full solution which anyone can see during a web-based 'open house' demonstration of their platform on Wednesday, Jan 22, 2014 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM PST.