comfort-letter-from-auditors

name	comfort-letter-from-auditors
title	Comfort Letter from Auditors
description	Drafts PCAOB AS 6101-compliant auditor comfort letters (cold comfort letters) providing negative assurance on unaudited financial information for underwriters in U.S. securities offerings. Use when drafting comfort letters for underwriting agreements, capital markets closings, IPOs, secondary offerings, or any securities transaction requiring auditor negative assurance at signing or closing.
author	CaseMark
author_url	https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/comfort-letter-from-auditors
license	Apache-2.0
version	0.1.0
execution_mode	open
jurisdiction	us
practice	capital-markets
language	en
tags	["corporate","drafting","letter","regulatory"]

Comfort Letter from Auditors

Drafts a comfort letter under PCAOB AS 6101 providing negative assurance on unaudited interim financials and pro forma data for underwriter reliance in U.S. securities offerings.

Required Inputs

1. Offering details — type (IPO, secondary), SEC file number, form type (S-1, S-3), pricing/closing date
2. Audited financial statements — fiscal periods covered, audit report date
3. Unaudited interim financials — periods under review; pro forma data if applicable
4. Underwriting agreement — date, full legal names of all addressees, specific comfort items requested
5. Cut-off date — within 5 business days of comfort letter date
6. Engagement authorization — engagement letter authorizing preparation

Drafting Workflow

1. Header & Introduction

• Firm letterhead with PCAOB registration number
• Date coinciding with pricing or closing
• Addressees: all underwriters/placement agents by full legal name
• State purpose, registration statement number, audited periods, governing standard (PCAOB AS 6101), and underwriting agreement authorization

2. Scope & Procedures

Include required disclaimer: procedures do not constitute an audit or review under PCAOB standards and are substantially less in scope than an examination.

Standard procedures:

• Read minutes of stockholders, board, and committee meetings through cut-off date
• Inquire of officials re: changes in capital stock, long-term debt, specified financial statement items
• Apply analytical procedures to interim data (comparison to prior periods)
• Agree interim figures to accounting records
• Read unaudited interim financials in the registration statement
• If applicable: agreed-upon procedures on pro forma information

State cut-off period: from latest audited balance sheet date through cut-off date.

3. Negative Assurance Statements

Use consistently for each item requested in the underwriting agreement:

"Nothing came to our attention as a result of the foregoing procedures that caused us to believe that..."

Topic	Completing clause
Financial statement items	...material decreases in [item] vs. [audited period]