When most people think of what an auditor does, they think about assurance services. Assurance services are audit activities that provide an independent, objective assessment of financial statements or compliance efforts. The objectives of these audits are to assure management, the Board, and regulators that financial statements are accurate and operations are done in accordance with applicable policies and regulations. This compliance, regulatory, and financial statement audits are all considered assurance services. Other audit services, such as consulting and advisory audits - while important audit activities - are not part of the assurance audit service.