Predecessor and successor auditors: acceptance before transition
Separate required preacceptance inquiries from postacceptance workpaper review, including client permission and predecessor response duties.
The decision that earns the point
Identify the engagement facts and governing framework
Before accepting an initial audit, the successor asks the prospective client for permission to communicate with the predecessor and makes the required inquiries. The predecessor responds promptly and fully based on known facts, subject to confidentiality and any stated limits. After acceptance, additional communication and workpaper access can help plan and perform the audit, but they do not replace the successor's own evidence.
Exam use
AUD can test who initiates communication, why client permission is needed, inquiry subjects such as integrity, disagreements and predecessor-change reasons, how a limited predecessor response affects acceptance, and how postacceptance workpaper review differs from the preacceptance decision.
Your scratch-paper plan
Solve it in three moves
- 1
Obtain permission and inquire before acceptance
The successor asks the prospective client to authorize predecessor communication and obtains acceptance-relevant information before agreeing to the audit.
PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors - 2
Evaluate both the answer and any limitation
Consider integrity, disputes, fraud or control communications, change reasons, and why the predecessor limits or declines a response.
PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors - 3
Treat postacceptance access as planning evidence
Request appropriate workpaper access after appointment, evaluate the work reviewed, and still perform the procedures needed for the successor's own opinion.
PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
Worked problem
Work the facts before choosing the answer
A prospective PCAOB issuer refuses to authorize any communication with its predecessor auditor, saying the prior firm was too conservative. Management offers the successor a copy of the prior unmodified report instead.
CPAPass exam analysis using the stated assumptions
Show the work
The report does not answer the required acceptance inquiries. The successor asks why permission is denied, considers the refusal's implications for management integrity and engagement risk, and does not assume that a clean prior opinion resolves the concern.
Rule source: PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor AuditorsAnswer
Absent satisfactory resolution and the information needed for acceptance, the successor ordinarily declines the engagement. Workpaper access after appointment cannot cure a preacceptance refusal that prevents required communication.
Rule source: PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor AuditorsDo it now
Test the same decision with a fresh question
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The trap and the repair
Common trap
Treating predecessor workpaper review as the required preacceptance communication reverses the timeline and assumes an engagement that may never be acceptable.
Repair
Draw a line at acceptance: permission and required inquiries go before it; transition communication and workpaper access go after it.
Authority and scope boundary
PCAOB AS 2610 controls the issuer illustration and its predecessor-successor sequence. Current AICPA standards, including the applicable nonissuer initial-audit and engagement-acceptance requirements, control a nonissuer audit. Neither framework lets predecessor information substitute for the successor's audit evidence.
2026 Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints and PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors were reviewed on 2026-08-14. Check a newer authority when the effective date or facts change.
Acceptance boundary
The same auditors communicate for different reasons on each side of acceptance
Preacceptance inquiries decide whether to take the engagement. Postacceptance access helps the successor plan but does not transfer responsibility.
| Stage | Successor action | Decision produced | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permission request | Ask the prospective client to authorize full predecessor communication | Whether required inquiry can proceed and what refusal implies | PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors |
| Preacceptance inquiries | Ask about integrity, disagreements, fraud and control matters, and reasons for the auditor change | Accept, seek more information, or decline | PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors |
| Predecessor response | Evaluate a full response and the reasons for any limitation | Reliability and completeness of acceptance information | PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors |
| After acceptance | Arrange authorized workpaper review and design independent successor procedures | Opening-balance and planning evidence, not inherited responsibility | PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors |
After a miss
Repair a succession-timing miss
- 1
Divide the page into before acceptance and after acceptance, then sort every inquiry and workpaper action into one side.
- 2
Rework the refusal illustration after management grants permission but the predecessor limits the response because of litigation and assess the new acceptance risk.
- 3
Answer a fresh initial-audit question and name initiator, permission, inquiry subject, and decision timing before checking the explanation.
Your exam workflow
- Step 1Identify the requirementThe successor asks the prospective client to authorize predecessor communication and obtains acceptance-relevant information before agreeing to the audit.PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
- Step 2Classify the factsConsider integrity, disputes, fraud or control communications, change reasons, and why the predecessor limits or declines a response.PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
- Step 3Apply the authorityRequest appropriate workpaper access after appointment, evaluate the work reviewed, and still perform the procedures needed for the successor's own opinion.PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
- Step 4Check the outputAbsent satisfactory resolution and the information needed for acceptance, the successor ordinarily declines the engagement. Workpaper access after appointment cannot cure a preacceptance refusal that prevents required communication.PCAOB AS 2610: Initial Audits - Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
Keep the next step narrow
Quick questions
What is the key rule?
Before accepting an initial audit, the successor asks the prospective client for permission to communicate with the predecessor and makes the required inquiries. The predecessor responds promptly and fully based on known facts, subject to confidentiality and any stated limits. After acceptance, additional communication and workpaper access can help plan and perform the audit, but they do not replace the successor's own evidence.
How can this topic be tested on the CPA Exam?
AUD can test who initiates communication, why client permission is needed, inquiry subjects such as integrity, disagreements and predecessor-change reasons, how a limited predecessor response affects acceptance, and how postacceptance workpaper review differs from the preacceptance decision.
What mistake most often changes the result?
Treating predecessor workpaper review as the required preacceptance communication reverses the timeline and assumes an engagement that may never be acceptable. Draw a line at acceptance: permission and required inquiries go before it; transition communication and workpaper access go after it.
Where should I practice the decision?
After the worked example, open the AUD free-practice link and work a fresh question that tests the same decision. If the miss depends on Audit planning after acceptance, review that handoff before trying another set.