GAAS

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) are standards used by auditors when auditing the finances of private companies and individuals and are designed to assure accuracy, consistency and fairness. They were created by the Auditing Standards Board, a division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Since 2002 the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has created separate standards for publicly traded companies under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These standards are similar to the GAAS standards.