The New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) recently spoke out in support of proposed accounting compliance changes regarding the auditing standards applied to related-party transactions, but questioned amendments related to identification.

Specifically, the body of accounting consultants stopped short of wholeheartedly endorsing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) efforts to enhance the auditor’s identification and evaluation of a significant number of unusual transactions within a company.

In a comment letter compiled by the NYSSCPA's international accounting and auditing, auditing standards and SEC practice committees, the organization said that while it recognized the need to identify unusual transactions, it was concerned by the implication that the auditor will always be able to do so.

"While an auditor can and should be vigilant in attempting to identify related parties, addressing the completeness assertion is normally difficult because it involves searching for the unknown," the group wrote.

The letter was in response to proposed standards released in February that, subject to approval, will begin for audits of financial statements conducted on December 15.