Why you might need a bridging letter

What is a bridging letter?

A bridging letter is used to bridge the gap between a Service Organisations Assurance report date and the user entity’s year-end. For example, a pension scheme has a financial year end of 31 March 2022 however, the third-party administrator AAF 01/20 report has a year end of 31 December 2021.

What does a bridging letter do?

It provides the user entity with comfort that the service organisations internal controls have continued to operate effectively between the gap (as described above).

Who is responsible for producing a bridging letter?

Upon request of the latest assurance report from a service organisation, the bridging letter is produced by the Service Organisation and includes the below information as a minimum.
The Service Auditor is not responsible for producing the bridging letter.

What does a bridging letter include?

• Service Organisation’s reporting period date
• Highlights any material changes in the internal control environment since the assurance report was finalised
• A statement that the service organisation is not aware of any other material changes
• Reminder that the user organisations are responsible for following complementary user entity controls
• Outline the ability to request the latest service organisation’s report
• A disclaimer that the bridging letter is not a replacement for the most recent assurance report

If you would like guidance on producing a bridging letter in line with expectations, please contact us on 020 7112 8300 or info@assureuk.co.uk.