In an attestation engagement, who are the primary beneficiaries of the report?

• A. The client.
• B. The statement users.
• C. The auditor only.
• D. The government.

Answer: (B)

In an attestation engagement, the purpose is to provide assurance on a subject matter for people who will rely on the report. The main beneficiaries are the users who will depend on the information to make decisions—the statement users. They are the ones who need the assurance and are the primary audience for the report. The client is the entity being evaluated, not the primary beneficiary, and the auditor prepares and issues the report rather than being its beneficiary. The government may be among potential users in some contexts, but it isn’t automatically the primary beneficiary. So the best answer is that the primary beneficiaries are the statement users.