Engaging with Specialists - Supporting Complex GAAP Estimates and Auditor Expectations

Author: Kelen Camehl

This course focuses on the use of specialists in financial reporting and the accounting areas where their input is often necessary. It helps CPAs recognize when to engage valuation, legal, actuarial, or tax experts to support management’s assumptions in complex or high-risk areas. The course covers transactions such as business combinations, impairments, share-based compensation, and legal or environmental contingencies. It also explains how to evaluate a specialist’s work, document key judgments, and respond to auditor expectations. This course provides lasting insight into the intersection of technical accounting and expert input, helping professionals navigate complexity with confidence.

Publication Date: April 2026

Topics Covered

• What is a Specialist?
• Drivers Behind Specialist Use
• Evaluating Specialist Qualifications
• Common Types of Specialists in Accounting
• Standards that Reference or Imply Specialist Use
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Risks of Not Engaging a Specialist
• Common Misconceptions
• Cost Considerations
• Engagement Process
• Business Combinations
• Goodwill
• Fair Value Measurements
• Asset Retirement Obligations
• Other Valuation Examples
• Legal Contingencies
• Environmental Liabilities
• Define Benefit and Other Postretirment Plans
• Share-Based Compensation
• Uncertain Tax Positions and Valuation Allowances
• Management's Role in Evaluating Specialist Work
• Documentation Expectations
• Communicating with Auditors About Specialists
• When the Auditor Engages a Specialist
• Common Pitfalls & Lesson Learned

Learning Objectives

• Recognize circumstances where management may need to engage a specialist
• Differentiate between the types of specialists commonly used in financial reporting
• Identify the requirements with respect to evaluating a specialists qualifications
• Distinguish between management’s responsibilities and the specialist’s role
• Recognize accounting topics and transactions where specialist input is frequently applied
• Recognize transactions that commonly require valuation specialist involvement
• Identify key valuation assumptions that affect the measurement of various financial reporting areas
• Identify accounting scenarios where use of a valuation report may be expected by auditors or regulators
• Identify circumstances where legal counsel input is necessary to assess loss contingencies
• Recognize the role of actuaries in measuring pension and postretirement benefit obligations
• Determine when the use of a valuation specialist is appropriate in share-based payment arrangements
• Recognize the importance of coordination between legal, tax, and accounting professionals
• Recognize management’s responsibility to evaluate the appropriateness of a specialist’s work
• Identify documentation practices that support the use of specialists in financial reporting
• Determine the types of inquiries auditors may make regarding management’s use of a specialist
• Recognize when and how auditors engage specialists
• Distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable reliance on third-party reports

Level
Intermediate

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (4 hours)

Program Prerequisites
Basic understanding of GAAP

Advance Preparation
None