Auditing Report (MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING)

7/27/2019 Auditing Report (MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING)

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University of Karachi

MEF SECTION-A

SUBJECT: Managerial Accounting

Assignment Report

Topic: Auditing

Date: 5thJuly, 2013

Submitted to:

MADAM HUNAIN ZAKI

Submi tted by:

1.Babar Anwar 12100242.Ashfaq Ali 12100193.Fahad Ahmed Khan 12100274.Adi l Khursheed 12100045.Hassan Ali Khan 1210041


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CONTENTS

IntroductionOrigin Of AuditingDevelopment Of Auditing ProfessionDefinitionInternational Auditing GuidelinesObjectives of AuditingLimitations Of AuditingTypes of Audits and ReviewWhich Companies Make Audited Financial Statements?Role Of Auditors In Detecting Errors And FraudsAudit TechniquesAudit EvidencesLatest News And Upcoming Events


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1)Introduction:Economic decisions in every society must be based upon the information available at the time

the decision is made. For example, the decision of a bank to make a loan to a business is based

upon previous financial relationships with that business, the financial condition of the

company as reflected by its financial statements and other factors.

If decisions are to be consistent with the intention of the decision makers, the information used

in the decision process must be reliable. Unreliable information can cause inefficient use of

resources to the detriment of the society and to the decision makers themselves. In the lending

decision example, assume that the barfly makes the loan on the basis of misleading financial

statements and the borrower Company is ultimately unable to repay.

As society become more complex, there is an increased likelihood that unreliable information

will be provided to decision makers. There are several reasons for this: remoteness of

information, voluminous data and the existence of complex exchange transactions.

As a means of overcoming the problem of unreliable information, the decision-maker must

develop a method of assuring him that the information is sufficiently reliable for these

decisions..

2)Origin Of Auditing:During the 18th century industrial revolution brought in large scale production, steam power,

improved facilities and better means of communication. This resulted in the origin of Joint stock

form of organizations. Shareholders contribute capital of these companies but do not have

control over the day to day working of the organization. The shareholders who have invested

their money would naturally be interested in knowing the financial position of the company. This

originated the need of an independent person who would check the accounts and report the

shareholders on the accuracy of the accounts and the safety of their investment.

The Indian Companies Act, 1913 defined the qualification, power, duties and procedure of

appointment of the Auditor. The audit of Joint Stock Company made compulsory by this Act.

Educational qualification certificate were issued by the central and state governments to those

who undergone the prescribed course. In the year 1949, Chartered Accountants Act was passed.

Companies act 1956 further elaborated the provisions related to the auditing and accounts of

the companies. Now a person to do the auditing must be qualified as per the standards of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

A number of factors are also responsible for the origin of auditing, among which worth

mentioning are introduction of double entry system of book keeping in 1494, due to rapid

growth of idustry and commerce as a consequence of revival in Italy in the 15th

century and birth


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of limited companies and finally the officially recognition of auditing profession by the English

Companies Act 1862.

3)Development Of Audi ting Profession:Development before establishment of Pakistan (Till 14

thAugust 1947)

The Indian Companies Act, 1857 made audit of accounts of limited companies optional at the

direction of a company. The Indian Companies Act,1913 made the audit of companys account

cumpulsory.Fot the first time qualification, duties, rights and appointment of the auditors were

prescribed. Accordingly specified persons could carry out audit, namely:

A person holding a certificate from local government. Member of an association or socially recognized for this purpose.

In 1918 the Government of Bombay initiated a scheme for training of professional accountants

who after passing the prescribed examination were awarded a diploma called Government

Diploma in Accountancy(G.D.A) and required to undergo three years of articleship.In 1930 theprofession of accountancy was brought under the control of the Central Government who

maintained a Register and established the Indian Accountancy Board. The auditors were

designatedREGISTERED ACCOUNTANTS.

Development after establishment of Pakistan (Since 14th

August 1947)

After the independence of India and Establishment of Pakistan the auditing profession

discontinued to be controlled by the Registered Accountants Rules in the Ministry of commerce.

For sometime no examination were held in Pakistan.

In 1960, the government promulgated an Act called Chartered Accountants Act and established

the INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT OF PAKISTAN (ICAP).

In early stages of its establishment the profession still remained under the control of the Federal

Government, but later it became independent. The Companies Ordinance,1984 has further

strengthened the auditing profession in Pakistan. The Income Tax Ordinance 1979, by the virtue

of an amendment made therein, made the audit of certain assesses compulsory. This has further

contributed to the growth of the auditing profession in the country.

4)Definition:Auditing is an independentexaminationoffinancial statements orother financial information

of an entity, conducted to express an opinion thereon.

Explanation Of Key Terms:

INDEPENDENCE:


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Independence is described as the ability to act with objectivity and integrity. Independence implies that the auditor should not have any such relationship with the

client which may effect his integrity and objectivity.

The auditor should be free of conflict of interest. The auditor shouldin factandin appearancebe independent.

EXAMINATION:

It includes obtaining and evaluating evidence relating to financial statements concerning

management assertions.

Examination is conducted through,

Test of controls ( Design + Implementation) Test of detailed transaction. Analysis of Financial Statement ( Analytical review)

FINANCIAL STATEMENT:

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Statement Statement of Retained Earnings Notes to the accounts

OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

It represents components of financial statement for example, account receivable, inventories etc

etc.

5)I nternational Auditing Guideli nes:The International Auditing Practices Committee (IAPC) of the International Federation of

Accountants (IFA) has issued professional pronouncements regarding standards or the practice

of auditing called the International Auditing Guidelines (IAG).

The International Auditing Practices Committee is composed of representatives from 16

countries, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India , Japan, Mexico, Netherlands,

Philippines, Scandinavian countries ( Denmark, Norway and Sweden), United States, Ireland,

United Kingdom.

International Auditing Guidelines (IAG) serves the following purposes:

IAG can be used by any country for developing its own guidelines as is done by Australiaand Netherlands.


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IAG can be adopted by countries who decide not to develop their own guidelines as doneby Cyprus, Malaysia, Fiji and Srilanka.

IAG helps in harmonizing the practice of auditing throughout the world and elevate thestandard of profession throughout the world.

None of the IAG is obligatory .The IFA has no power to impose standards.

6)Objectives of Audi ting:The objective of an audit of financial statement is to enable an auditor to express an opinion on

such financial statements. A financial audit has a basic objective of examining whether the

accounts are true and fair. It has an incidental objective of detecting errors and frauds.

BASIC OBJECTIVETrue and Fair ViewThe basic object of financial audit is to enable an auditor to express an opinion on the financial

statement the auditor gives his opinion on whether the final accounts give a true and fair view

of the concern

True and fair view of final accounts means:

1. Profit and Loss statement give a true and fair view of the income and expenditure andprofit and loss of the concern

2. The balance sheet gives accurate and true and fair view of the financial position of theconcern at the end of financial year

It means the concern should disclose their profit and loss as it is and also discloses the true value

of its net worth, all material items should be disclosed.

INCIDENTAL OBJECTIVEDetection of Errors and FraudsIf accounts are true and fair they should be free from any error or fraud, their discovery may be

incidental audit. Since the final accounts are based on books of accounts, the incidental

objective of audit is to ensure that the final accounts tally with their books of accounts. While

conducting the audit, the auditor has to:

1. Vouch the transactions2. Verify the assets and liabilities3. Study internal control

During such study, verification and vouching the auditor comes to know about the errors and

frauds then he takes a proper action against this so the final accounts gives true and fair views

which are free from errors and fraud.


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7)L imitations Of Auditing:Truly speaking, an audit should have no limitations of its own. It is designed to protect the

interest of all parties who are interested in the affairs of the business. If there be any

shortcoming arising there from, it may be due to its narrow scope of application in its related

field of operation and un extended definition of the concept.

Auditing suffers from the following shortcomings:

WANT OF COMPLETE PICTURE:The audit may not give complete picture. If the accounts are prepared with the intention to

defraud others, auditor may not be able to detect them.

PROBLEMS OF DEPENDENCE:Sometimes the auditor has to depend on explanations, clarification and information from staff

and the client. He may or may not get correct or complete information.

EXISTENCE OF ERRORS IN THE AUDITED ACCOUNTSIt is not possible for the auditor in all cases, to check each and every transaction of an

organization. As a result, there may be error in the audited accounts even after the checking by

the auditor.

LACK OF EXPERTISE:Auditor has to seek opinion of experts on certain matters on which he may not have experts

knowledge. The auditor has to depend upon such reports which may not always be correct.

DIVERSIFIED SITUATIONS:Auditing is considered to be a mechanical work. Auditors may not be in a position to frame audit

programme, which can be followed in all situations.

QUALITY OF THE AUDITOR:Success of audit depends on the sincerity with which the auditor has performed his

duties. The same audit work can be done by two different auditors with difference in

sincerity.

EXISTENCE OF DEFECTIVE POLICIES:The auditor can only report on the truth and fairness of the financial statements. But other

defects, i.e. defects relating to management and control may not be possible to be covered by

the auditor.


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8)Types of Audi ts and Review:The Audit Process

In general, a typical audit includes the following sequential steps:

Scheduling an opening conference to discuss the audit objectives, timing, and reportformat and distribution.

Assessing the soundness of the internal controls or business systems and operations. Testing the internal controls to ensure proper operation. Discussing with management all preliminary observations. Discussing with management the draft audit report and their responses, if available,

prior to release of the final audit report.

Following up on critical issues raised in audit reports to determine if they have beensuccessfully resolved.

Types of Audits:

- Financial Audits or Reviews- Operational Audits- Department Reviews- Information Systems Audits- Integrated Audits- Investigative Audits or Reviews- Follow-up Audits FINANCIAL AUDITS:

A historically oriented, independent evaluation performed for the purpose of attesting to thefairness, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. CSULB's external auditors, KPMG, perform

this type of review. CSULB's Director of Financial Reporting coordinates the work of these

auditors on our campus.

OPERATIONAL AUDITS:A future-oriented, systematic, and independent evaluation of organizational activities. Financial

data may be used, but the primary sources of evidence are the operational policies and

achievements related to organizational objectives. Internal controls and efficiencies may be

evaluated during this type of review.

DEPARTMENT REVIEW:A current period analysis of administrative functions, to evaluate the adequacy of controls,

safeguarding of assets, efficient use of resources, compliance with related laws, regulations and

University policy and integrity of financial information.
http://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#financialhttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#operationalhttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#departmenthttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#ishttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#integratedhttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#investigativehttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#followuphttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#followuphttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#investigativehttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#integratedhttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#ishttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#departmenthttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#operationalhttp://daf.csulb.edu/offices/univ_svcs/internalauditing/audits.html#financial


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INFORMATION SYSTEM (IS) AUDIT:There are three basic kinds of IS Audits that may be performed:

- General Controls Review:A review of the controls which govern the development, operation, maintenance, and security of

application systems in a particular environment. This type of audit might involve reviewing a

data center, an operating system, a security software tool, or processes and procedures (such as

the procedure for controlling production program changes), etc.

- Application Controls Review:A review of controls for a specific application system. This would involve an examination of the

controls over the input, processing, and output of system data. Data communications issues,

program and data security, system change control, and data quality issues are also considered.

- System Development Review:A review of the development of a new application system. This involves an evaluation of the

development process as well as the product. Consideration is also given to the general controls

over a new application, particularly if a new operating environment or technical platform will be

used.

INTEGRATED AUDIT:This is a combination of an operational audit, department review, and IS audit application

controls review. This type of review allows for a very comprehensive examination of a functional

operation within the University.

INVESTIGATIVE AUDIT:This is an audit that takes place as a result of a report of unusual or suspicious activity on the

part of an individual or a department. It is usually focused on specific aspects of the work of a

department or individual. All members of the campus community are invited to report

suspicions of improper activity to the Director of Internal Auditing Services on a confidential

basis.

FOLLOW-UP AUDIT:These are audits conducted approximately six months after an internal or external audit report

has been issued. They are designed to evaluate corrective action that has been taken on the

audit issues reported in the original report. When these follow-up audits are done on external

auditors' reports, the results of the follow-up may be reported to those external auditors.


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9)Which Companies Make Audited F inancial Statements?When a business is audited, the independent examiner reviews both the underlying financial data as well

as the organizational elements that are meant to prevent fraud and ensure accurate information. The

audit process and the statements these procedures generate provide significant benefits for any

organization. As a result, many groups undertake periodic audits to promote organizational health.

Public companies, private businesses, companies that control large retirement funds for its employees

and nonprofits may all be required under law to provide annual audited statements to ensure

compliance with regulations and to provide sufficient financial disclosures.

PUBLIC COMPANIES:A publicly traded business is any company that is listed on an organized exchange so that it can

sell ownership shares. In the United States, publicly traded companies must submit a Schedule

10-K to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission annually. The 10-K provides investors and

regulators with an overview of the past year and details the businesss financial condition and

long-term prospects. One of the elements required to complete the 10-K is to provide audited

financial statements.

PRIVATE BUSINESSES:Private companies may not be required by law to provide audited financial statements, but best

practices and contractual obligations may require that small businesses supply such documents.

For companies that are looking to obtain a loan or already have one, the bank or lending party

may require annual audited statements to ensure that the business is on sound financial

footing.

LARGE RETIREMENT FUNDS:Regardless of a businesss status as public or private, it may have a responsibility to provide

audited statements for any retirement fund it sponsors. Under the U.S. tax code, an employer

that sponsors a large retirement fund must annually file Form 5500 with the Internal Revenue

Service. A large retirement plan is defined as one that has at least 100 members. Form 5500

requires the sponsoring business to prepare an audited financial statement that details the

retirement plans assets, the amount of contributions made to the plan during the year, and the

investment income the plan earned during the year.

NON-PROFITS

Nonprofits are companies that are dedicated to serving a public purpose as opposed togenerating income for its owners. These entities are often regulated by federal tax and state

statutes. A nonprofit may need to provide annual audited statements for two reasons. The first

reason is if the organization is subsidized by a government or private grantor. Sometimes a

donor requires annual audited statements to ensure that the provided funds are used in

accordance with the donors intent. The second reason is to comply with state law.


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10) Role Of Auditors I n Detecting Errors And Frauds:There is a difference of perception between the public and the auditing profession in relation to

an auditors duty regarding errors and frauds.

The auditor sees his duty as:

The independent examination of, and expression of opinion on, the financial statements ofan enterprise by an appointed auditor in pursuance of that appointment and in compliance

with any relevant statutory obligation.

While certifying the final accounts of the concern, the auditor, has to face a specific problem. He

has to certify in his report as to whether the profit and loss account reflects the true profit or

loss for the financial year concerned and the balance sheet exhibits a true and fair view of the

state of affairs at the end of the financial year. The emphasis is on financial statements.

DETECTION OF ERRORS AND FRAUDS:It is desirable that the auditor should exercise reasonable care and skill, so that he may detect

errors and frauds. If he carries routine checking and vouching more carefully and checks the

books of accounts thoroughly, he may be successful in his duty. Whereas, in doing so, if he is not

successful but he himself feels that he has not shown any negligence in his duty, then he cannot

be held responsible for any error or fraud which remains undetected in accounts. Hence, an

auditor is not an insurer.

PREVENTION OF ERRORS AND FRAUDS:The auditor has no authority to introduce remedial measures for the prevention of errors and

frauds. All that he can do is to advise his client and suggest the ways and means to preventthem.

11) Audit Techniques:Audit Techniques are the methods generally applied in the collection of evidences or securing

information. These techniques are not the evidences by themselves rather they are only means

and methods to force technically the clients to produce the evidences and proof regarding the

genuineness of a particular business transaction. Techniques are applied first; evidences are

then collected as a result of the application of these techniques.

Mautz has defined Audit Techniques as The expression Audit Techniques may be used to

describe the basic methods of collecting evidences used by auditors, the techniques in itself is

not evidence; it supplies the evidence required by the auditor to inform him sufficiently on the

subject so that he can give a professional opinion.


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TEN BASIC TECHNIQUES:

The various basic techniques or methods of securing information may be listed a under:

- Physical examination and count- Confirmation- Examination of authoritative documents- Re-computations- Retracing book-keeping procedures- Scanning- Inquiry- Examination of subsidiary records- Correlation with related information- Observation of pertinent activities and condition

These techniques are discussed here in come detail:

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND COUNT:Physical examination implies count, identification, and to at least a limited degree , verification

of genuineness and quality. No responsibility can be established for the auditor in regard to

quality and genuineness because he cannot be expected to be an expert in every type of

material.

Physical examination is known as eye-witness in Auditing. But it involves certain subsidiary ideas

which require attention.

- First of all, it requires identification of the item being examined. It dopes little good toexamine an inventory of purchased parts unless some can tell with reasonable accuracy

what is being examined and can later relate it to the information in the accounting

records.

- The auditor should try his best to distinguish quality of whatever be examining.- Quantity should also be given consideration. CONFIRMATION:

Confirmation consist of obtaining a written statement from someone outside the enterprise on a

fact that person is qualified to affirm. Properly applied, it is one of the useful techniques

available to an auditor and supplied evidence of considerable reliability of some accounts. It

may be applied to verify:

- Account Receivable- Account Payable- Bank Balances- Contingent Liabilities- Inventory in Warehouse- Title to property


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- Investments- Advances to outside parties

This technique is applied by writing letters to the parties concerned to confirm a particular

amount. The difficulty in applying this technique is that the outside parties are not under any

legal obligation to supply any information to the auditors.

EXAMINATION OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS:Business papers of this type provide the original record of the given transactions. Some of the

examples are as follows:

- Purchases invoices will be examined and compared with the purchase book.- Cancelled cheques will be examined and compared with the cheque register or cash

disbursement book.

- Petty cash tickets will be examined and compared with the record of petty cashdisbursement.

It is practically not possible to examine all the documents due to audit expenses. Therefore,random sampling may be applied.

RECOMPUTATION:It means to compute or calculate again to verify accounting figures, where necessary. Generally,

auditors are given tape-runs in support of the accounting figures. But the rule never accept a

clients tape is a very practical one and should never be broken by the auditors without

recognition of the risk which follows.

Re-computation is at once the most simple and the most valid verification technique. It is

complete in itself. Once the auditors prove the accuracy of a particular figure by this own

calculation, he accepts the arithmetical accuracy without further question. The technique of re-

computation may be applied to:

- Footing of books of original entry- Ledger account balances- Depreciation and bad debts computation RETRACING BOOK KEEPING PROCEDURE:

In this technique, the auditor has to repeat what has already been done by the accounts staff.To discover any errors which may have been made in such book-keeping procedures as posting

from the book of original entry to the ledger, or in taking total balances, it is necessary for the

auditor to repeat the particular procedure. This technique is applied in order to ensure that the

accounts were correctly processed, posted and finally presented correctly on the financial

statements.


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SCANNING:To scan means to scrutinize or to examine point by point. In auditing, it refers to the critical

study of an account, a book of original entry, or any other record or summary of information.

This is said to be a technique which approaches the sixth sense attributed to an auditor

mistakenly. Scanning is perhaps the most indefinite audit technique commonly employed, and it

is one which seldom gives rise to easily established evidence. In many cases it merely established

the necessity for further verification of some other kind. Yet in the hands of an experienced man

it is an extremely valuable tool and one never to be overlooked.

INQUIRY:Inquiry consists of asking questions and of obtaining satisfactory answers to those questions.

The answers range from formal statements in writing to casual conversational comments. Yet

by a careful use of the questioning procedure one can learn a great deal about matters which

might otherwise be obscure. The answer to a single question is seldom a reliable bit of evidence.

The answers to several related questions may provide very satisfactory evidence if they are all

reasonable and consistence.

EXAMINATION OF SUBSIDIARY RECORDS:In large organization a good number of accounts are operated and they are controlled by

Control Accounts techniques. These control accounts are supported by subsidiary ledger

accounts. For example, Account Receivable Control is supported by Account Receivable

Subsidiary Ledger. Account Payable Control is supported by Account Payable Subsidiary Ledger.

Similarly, Selling Expense- Control is supported by selling Expense Subsidiary Ledger.

CORRELATION WITH RELATED INFORMATION:Within the double entry system of accounting, there is a great tendency for items in one place to

relate to those in another. For example, there is generally a relationship between the amount of

insurance expense for the year and the decrease in the unexpired insurance account balance.

Similarly, there is a relationship between the increase in the estimated uncollectible and the bad

debt expense account. Auditors should continually be on the lock-out for possibilities of

exploiting such relationship. An asset account which is related to an expense account is not fully

verified until that expense account has been reconciled with the asset in someway.

OBESRVATION:

During the course of a normal audit engagement, an auditors has a great many opportunities toexercise his powers of observation. He will examine and count portion of the inventory ,

probably take a tour of the plant , see the various employees at work, note the facilities for

protection of company assets and records, and observe various phase of the internal control

programme. Observation is perhaps the most general of all the basic audit techniques, It does

not apply to specific verification problems in the way that confirmation or re-computation does,

rather it is of some usefulness in almost all phases of the examination and should never be

overlooked.


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12) Audit Evidence:Audit evidence is all the information, whether obtained from audit procedures or other sources,

that is used by the auditor in arriving at the conclusions on which the auditor's opinion is based.

Audit evidence consists of both information that supports and corroborates management's

assertions regarding the financial statements or internal control over financial reporting and

information that contradicts such assertions.

Anyone who has conducted an audit has asked themselves this question, Do I have enough

support for what is included in the final report? As it turns out, this is a very good question. The

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines evidence as, something that furnishes proof.AU Section

326 (source: SAS No. 106) defines audit evidence as, the information used by the auditor in

arriving at the conclusions on which the audit opinion is based and includes the information

contained in the accounting records underlying the financial statements and other information.

There are several different types of audit evidence. Auditors utilize different types of evidence

depending on the audit objective to be achieved. Audit evidence can consist of:

Inspection of documents : A physical inspection or examination of data to determine ifcontrols are working and transactions are correct. The data can be physical or electronic.

Inquiry: Verbal or written responses from management to questions from auditors. These inquiries can relate to internal control procedures or other areas. This type of

evidence is consideredless reliableandshould be corroborated through audit tests.

Observation: An observation of the actual performance of a function or activity. Reperformance: The reperformance of a procedure to assess the effectiveness of

internal controls.

Recalculation: The recalculation of data; for instance, rechecking computations to testmathematical accuracy.

Confirmation: Obtaining responses directly from an independent third party.Confirmations can be positive (where the auditor requests a response) or negative (theauditor only requests a response if there is an error or incorrect balance).

Analytical Procedures: A review of relationships of data. This consists of evaluations offinancial information made by a study of plausible relationships of financial and

nonfinancial data.

Auditors must obtain appropriate and sufficient evidence in meeting audit objectives. In

gathering this evidence, the auditor should consider the following audit procedures:

Conducting an analysis of trends and other industry information , including informationon the entitys website;

Reviewing laws, rules and regulations pertinent to the entity; Performing a review and analysis of the entitys financial information; Reviewing the entitys annual performance reports and strategic plans; Reviewing the entitys policies,procedures, and other guidance; Reviewing internal and external audit reports, and other evaluation reports of the entity; Conducting interviews with management and staff of the entity; and


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Reviewing reporting relationships as exhibited by organizational charts.Audit standards indicate audit evidence should be sufficient and appropriate. Sufficiency refers

to the amount of evidence and can be based on risk and materiality, as well as the auditors

professional judgment. Appropriateness refers to the quality of the evidence and consists of

relevance and reliability. Audit evidence is relevant if it is relates to the audit objective; it is

reliable if it can be relied on to support the audit objective. If unrelated audit evidence is used as

a basis to meet audit objectives, an incorrect conclusion can be reached. Audit evidence is

generally more reliable if obtained from an independent third party, but less reliable if obtained

via statements from management. Audit evidence is also more reliable if original documents are

obtained rather than copies (which could have been modified). A consideration of the nature of

audit evidence is necessary when performing procedures to meet audit objectives.

WHY DO WE NEED AUDIT EVIDENCE:

Auditors should understand why audit evidence is necessary, while they are conducting audit

procedures, rather than after audit procedures have concluded. Factors to consider regarding

the necessity of audit evidence include, but are not limited to, the following:

To support findings and conclusions. Government Auditing Standards, Section 6.01,states, The auditor should apply an approach to obtain reasonable assurance that the

evidence is sufficient and appropriate to support the auditors findings and conclusions.

To demonstrate that audit objectives were met; To support accuracy and completeness of the final report; To show compliance with applicable audit standards; and To evidence support for possible fraudulent activity noted.

HOW MUCH AUDIT EVIDENCE IS ENOUGH:

Prior to completion of audit procedures, auditors should review audit evidence obtained to

ensure there are no unanswered questions. So, how does an auditor know how much audit

evidence is enough? Auditors should be able to answer in the affirmative to the following when

completing the audit:

Does the audit evidence support that the audit objectives are met? Is the audit evidence sufficient, appropriate, relevant and reliable? Is there adequate audit evidence to support the findings and conclusions in the final

report?

Is there enough audit evidence to show compliance with applicable audit standards?While this is not a complete list of questions auditors should ask themselves, these are ones

auditors should be able to answer in the affirmative. Auditors should recognize each audit is

different, and the sufficiency of audit evidence will vary by type of audit. The sufficiency of the

audit evidence should be assessed on an ongoing basis in the planning, execution and

completion phases of the audit.


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Latest News:

28-June-2013New Practice Advisory Offers Guidance on Implementing Continuous Assurance.

28-June-2013IIA Releases a Free Webcast on the Updated COSO Framework.

25-June-2013Trending Blog: When It Comes to Fraud, Internal Auditors Need to Get There Early.

13-June-2013New Issue of Tone at the Top: Keep Your Eye on the Talent.

Upcoming Events 14-July-2013

2013 International Conference

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29-September-20132013 Central Regional Conference

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