Defining "independence"

California CPA, Sept, 2004

In the August 2004 California CPA article, "Are You an Expert?" author John Raspante, a CPA and loss prevention representative for Camico, discussed the need for CPAs who provide expert witness services to maintain independence. In the article, "independence" referred to objectivity and free of conflicts of interest, as opposed to the definition of independence in the professional literature.

In fact, according to AICPA Statement on Standards for Consulting Services, "AICPA independence standards relate only to the performance of attestation services; objectivity standards apply to all services."