Chapter 11 Flashcards
What is the general timeline for major activities in audit?
- Beginning of the year
- Year- End Date (date of the financial statements)
- Date of the auditor’s report (audit completion date)
- Audit report release date
What occurs between the beginning of the year and the year-end date (the date of the financial statements)?
Interim testing (tests of controls and substantive procedures)
What happens between the year-end date and the date of the auditor’s report (the audit completion date)?
- Complete substantive procedures
- Attorney’s letters
- Written representations
- Going-concern assessment
- Adjusting journal entries
- Audit documentation review
- Subsequent events
What happens between the date of the auditor’s report and the audit report release date?
Subsequently discovered facts
What happens after the audit report release date?
- Subsequently discovered facts
- Omitted audit procedures
What procedures are encompased in “complete substantive procedures”?
- Roll-forward procedures
- Analytical procedures
- Accounting estimates
Roll-forward procedures
Extend work from interim period to date of the financial statements
Roll-forward procedures include both…
Tests of controls and substantive procedures
When are roll-forward procedures performed?
Following the date of hte financial statements
What is the objective of roll-forward procedures?
Idea is to obtain evidence through the date of the financial statements
Analytical procedures are…
required as an overall review
What are analytical procedures evaluating?
- The adequacy of evidence gathered in response to unexpected account balances/relationships among balances IDENTIFIED during the audit
- Unusual/unexpected account balances or relationships among balances that were not previously identified
During analytical procedures auditor should review accounts for…
“miscellaneous,” “other,” and “clearing” accounts - may relate to earnings management
Generic or one-off accounts (like manual entries) could be used to…
manage earnings (this is a risk point for the audit)
The hope during analytical procedures is to…
Have nothing unexpected - this is one of the final stages of the audit
What are examples of accounting estimates?
- future cash flows in evaluating asset impairments
- allowance for doubtful accounts for receivables
- depreciation lives for fixed assets
What should auditors review when looking at accounting estimates?
- Management’s process for developing estimates
- Reasonableness
What is the process for attorney’s letters?
- Auditors initiate request for attorney letter
- Auditors send lettter to the attorney including information related to litigation, claims, and assessments
- The client prepares listing, description, and evaluation of litigation, claims, and assessments for the letter
- The attorney responds to the auditor regarding the client’s description of litigation, claims, and assessments contained in the legal letter
Attorney’s letters are very similar to…
confirmations
What are attorney’s letters specifically used for?
contingent liabilities
Attorney/client privilege
Risk in the process of attorney’s letters - the client can instruct the attorney not to disclose things
Written Representations are provided by…
management to the auditors
When are written representations dated?
The date of auditors’ report (audit completion date)
What is the purpose of written representations?
- Impress upon management its primary responsibility for the financial statements
- May establish auditors’ defense if a question related to inquiries subsequently arises (Cover Your Ass Letter)