The most significant change made in the 2018 Yellow Book relates to the independence standards. The effective date of the 2018 Yellow Book’s financial audit, attestation and review engagement standards is for periods ending on or after June 30, 2020. However, auditors who provide non-audit services need to be independent for the entire audit period.

If you fall into that auditor category, you will need to consider the auditor independence requirements of the 2018 Yellow Book prior to this effective date. For example, an auditor performing a June 30, 2020, financial statement audit under Government Auditing Standards will need to comply with the new independence requirements at the beginning of the audit period: July 1, 2019.