Audit
An examination of complete financial statements under auditing standards, ending in an opinion on whether the statements present fairly in all material respects. A reserve attestation is not an audit: it covers narrower subject matter under different standards. ReserveBeat renders each report's own stated engagement type and never upgrades one to the other.
By Aaron Cohen
Citations
Definitions are written in ReserveBeat's own words, each citing a primary source. Text from professional attestation standards — including AICPA criteria — is never reproduced or paraphrased on this site; standard text renders only when loaded verbatim from an official source document. Nothing here is legal advice or a judgment of any issuer.
Frequently asked questions
Where do these definitions come from?
Each definition is written in ReserveBeat's own words and cites a primary source — the statute's text on congress.gov, a standards body's own pages, a regulator's published material, or ReserveBeat's published methodology. The citation is the authority; the definition is only an orientation to it.
Why is text from professional standards never quoted here?
Standards text belongs to its standard-setter, and paraphrase can quietly distort meaning. ReserveBeat therefore treats standards as things to cite, not restate: definitions stay in its own words, and standard text appears on this site only when loaded verbatim from an official source document.
Is this glossary legal or investment advice?
No. Entries are plain-language orientations to defined terms, written for readers of reserve disclosures. The cited primary sources control in every case, and nothing here is advice about any legal question, token, or issuer.
Does defining a term mean an issuer satisfies it?
No. The glossary defines vocabulary only. What any issuer actually disclosed appears on that token's own pages, rendered verbatim from its published reports — and even there, nothing is a judgment of reserve sufficiency or solvency.