A specialized financial report that deviates from standard financial statement formats. Special reports address unique information needs while maintaining professional standards and clarity. They are often prepared to comply with contractual agreements or regulatory provisions and may include certain sections, accounts, or items of a financial statement.
The first type of special reporting involves a situation in which an entity prepares its financial statements in accordance with a basis of presentation other than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). In this case, the auditor’s report should include a paragraph that describes the basis of presentation and refers to the accompanying note that describes the basis of presentation.
Alternatively, a special report can be used to describe a change in an accounting policy or the method of applying an existing accounting principle. In this case, the auditor’s report would not contain an opinion and should be presented as a special purpose financial report.
The Hastings Center periodically publishes special reports that document the results of its research projects. These reports may be single-authored or collections of essays by members of project working groups who reached differing moral conclusions about a particular bioethics issue. These reports are published as an alternative to the Center’s regular publications. These are not subject to the same rigorous review process as the regular Hastings Center Report. These reports are not intended for general publication and are available only to the participants in a particular research project.