Chapter 6 Flashcards
Before accepting an engagement, a firm should use their quality control policies to consider the following to minimize engagement risk
- History of Client
- Indentities and reputations of client’s directors, managers, and major stockholders
- Client’s financial stength
- CPA firm’s ability/technical expertise to audit client
What is the purpose of an engagement letter?
To establish an understanding with client and states that:
The firm meets professional independence requirements
There are no issues relating to management integrity
The client understands the terms of the engagement
- Also mentions inherent limitations of audit, other services to be provided, if specialists or internal auditors will be used, and fee arrangements
Define substantive tests/procedures
Tests of account balances and transactions designed to detect any material misstatements in the financial statements. The nature, timing, and extent of substantive procedures are determined by the auditors’ assessment of risks and their consideration of the client’s internal control.
What are the two types of fraud?
- Fraudulent financial reporting (overstating income, understating earnings, and income smoothing)
- Misappropriation of assets (stealing)
What could be done if found out that client has large financial statement risks (weak internal control, questionable integrity of management)>
- Bring more experienced/specialized engagement team members
- More supervision of engagement team and audit procedures
- Greater emphasis on professional skepticism
- Greater incorporation of unpredictability of Audit Procedures
- Increase of Overall scope of audit procedures
Is contact with prior auditor required?
Yes, and they talk about
- Integrity of management
- Disagreements if any
- client fraud or noncompliance with laws
- significant deficiencies or material weaknesses with internal control
- Reason of change of auditors
FASB describes this as the “magnitude of an omission or misstatement of accounting information that, in the light of surrounding circumstances, makes it probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying on the information would have been changed or influenced by the omission or misstatement.”
Materiality.
• The auditor’s responsibility is to determine if financial statements are materially misstated.
Some requirements of the audit committee are:
- to have at least three independent, financially literate directors (one of which must be a financial expert)
- Appointment, compensation, and oversight of auditors per SOX
Once again, list out the six steps of the audit process
- Plan the Audit
- Obtain Understanding of Client Environment (including Internal Control)
- Assess risks of material misstatement and design further audit procedures
- Perform further audit procedures
- Complete the audit
- Form an opinion and issue the audit report
Is shopping for accounting principles ok by audit client when choosing auditor?
No, SEC discourages it
When completing a first year audit with a new client, which two characteristics are required
- Must be extremely diligent due to lack of familiarity with client
- Must check validity of opening balances (use predecessor’s working papers or your own procedures)
Form 8-K is filed when _____
Any big change in company takes place, such as a change of auditor. Auditors must provide a response stating if they agree or disagree
Would the client cover costs for staff travel, report processing, etc in their fee estimate for the auditor?
Yes
What are the objectives of Substantive Programs for asset accounts?
- Establish existence
- Establish rights to assets
- Establish completeness of recorded assets
- Verify Cutoff transactions
- Determine appropriate valuation of assets and accuracy of related transactions
- Determine appropriate statement presentation and disclosure of assets
What are some incentives to commit fraud?
- Financial stability or profitability of company is threatened
- personal net worth materially threatened
- adverse relationships between employee and company
Define the Audit PLAN
A description of the nature, timing, and extent of the audit procedures to be performed. NOT the program, but is often documented with it.
When following an audit trail for existence or occurrence, is that vouching or tacing?
Vouching
Define the Audit PROGRAM
A detailed listing of the specific audit procedures to be performed in the course of an audit engagement. Audit programs provide a basis for assigning and scheduling audit work and for determining what work remains to be done. Audit programs are specially tailored to the risks and internal controls of each engagement. Has a Systems and a Substantive Test section.
How would an auditor respond to fraud?
- increase professional skepticism
- collect more audit evidence, especially third party evidence
- assign more experience personnel and increase supervision
- greater accounting principle consideration especially where complex
- incorporate unpredictability in audit procedures
- expand audit “NET”
- Nature - collect more reliable evidence
- Extent - increase sample sizes
- Timing - shift timing of testing from interim to year-end
When following an audit trail for completeness, is that considered tracing or vouching?
Tracing
If receivables that may have been recorded don’t exist, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Existence of Assets - Confirm a sample of receivables by direct communication with debtors
If accounting personnel may have failed to identify related party transactions, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Financial Statement Presentation of Assets - Provide a list of related parties to all members of the audit team to assist in identification of the transactions
Define the assertion of Cutoff of Transactions
Sales and cash receipt transactions are recorded in the proper period
If allowance for uncollectible accounts are misestimated by management, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Valuation of Assets - investigate credit ratings for delinquent and large receivables
Define the assertion of Valuation of Assets
Receivables are presented at the net realizable value
If management may have fraudulently overstated revenue and receivables by making inappropriate adjusting entries, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be takn?
Existence of Assets - Review monthly adjust entries for suspicious items
Define the assertion of Completeness of Assets
All receivables are recorded
If management may have shipped items before the end of the period but not recorded sales and related receivables until the next subsequent period, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Completeness of Assets - select a sample of sales invoices in subsequent period and examine related shipping document for date of shipment
Define the assertion of Existence of Assets
All recorded receivables exist
If allowance for sales returns and allowances may be misestimated by management, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Valuation of Assets - Compare amount of credits given to customers in subsequent period to the amount estimated by management.
If accounting personnel may have erroneously treated a sale of receivables as a liability, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Rights to Assets - review confirmations of liabilities to determine if receivables have been sold or factored.
If sales and receivables for the next period may be recorded in the current period, which assertion is this situation concerned with and what audit procedures would be taken?
Cutoff of Transactions - Vouch sales and cash receipt transactions occurring near period end
Define the assertion of Rights to Assets
The client has the right of receivables.