Exam 2 (5-7) Flashcards
Financial statement assertions relevancy
Without regard for controls, have a reasonable possibility of containing a material misstatement
Three types of relevant financial statement assertions
- About classes of transactions and events
- Assertions about account balances
- Assertions about presentation and disclosures
Existence or occurrence
Assets, liabilities, and equity interests exist and recorded transactions have occurred
Rights and obligations
The company holds rights to the assets, and liabilities are the obligation of the company
Completeness
All assets, liabilities, equity interest, and transactions that should have been recorded are recorded
Cutoff
Transactions and events have been recorded in the correct accounting period
Valuation, allocation and accuracy
All transactions, assets, liabilities and equity interests are included in the financial statements at proper amounts
Presentation and disclosure
Accounts are described and classified in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and financial statement disclosures are complete, appropriate and clearly expressed
Audit risk =
Risk of material misstatement x risk that auditors fail to detect the misstatement
Risk of material misstatement =
Inherent risk x control risk
Inherent risk
Risk of a material misstatement occurring in an assertion assuming no related internal controls (without regard for them)
Control risk
Risk that a material misstatement in an assertion will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by the company’s internal control
Detection risk
Risk that the auditors’ procedures will lead them to conclude that a material misstatement does not exist in an assertion when in fact such misstatement does exist
Assertions with high inherent risk
- Difficult to audit transactions or balances
- Complex calculations
- Difficult accounting issues
- Significant judgment by management
- Valuations that vary significantly based on economic factors
Three types of transactions
Routine, no routine, estimated
Routine transaction
Recurring financial statement activities recorded in the accounting records in the normal course of business, lower inherent risk
Nonroutine transaction
Involve activities that only occur periodically such as the taking of physical inventories, high inherent risk
Estimation transactions
Activities that create accounting estimates, higher inherent risk
Appropriate audit evidence must be
- Relevant
- Reliable
Audit evidence is more reliable when
- Obtained from knowledgeable independent sources outside the company rather than nonindependent sources
- Generated internally through a system of effective controls rather than ineffective controls
- Obtained directly by the auditor rather than indirectly or by inference
- Documentary in form rather than oral
- Provided by original documents rather than copies
7 types of audit evidence and examples
- Accounting info system, JEs/ledgers
- Documentary evidence, checks/invoices
- Third-party reps, confirms/lawyer letters
- Physical evidence, physical inventory
- Computations, recompute EPS
- Data interrelationships, headcount + sales
- Client representations, client rep letter re SOX
Risk assessment procedures
To obtain an understanding of the client and it’s environment, including it’s internal control to assess the risk of material misstatement
Compliance tests (tests of controls)
When appropriate, to test the operating effectiveness of controls in preventing material misstatements
Substantive procedures
To detect material misstatements at relevant assertion level, include analytical procedures and tests of details of account balances, transactions and disclosures
One may change the scope of audit procedures by changing
- Nature (type and form)
- Extent (quantity of evidence contained)
- Timing (when performed)
Steps involved in analytical procedures
- Develop expectation of account or ratio balance
- Determine amount of difference that can be accepted without investigation
- Compare the company’s account or ratio with the expectation
- Investigate and evaluate significant differences
Four approaches to ratio analysis
- Horizontal
- Cross sectional
- Vertical
- Other methods
Horizontal analysis
Review ratios over time
Cross sectional analysis
Analyze ratios of similar forms at a point in time
Vertical analysis
Analyze relationships within a period
Vertical analysis
Analyze relationships within a period, “common size” statements prepared
Data analytics
The process of using related and unrelated data sets to provide insights into decisions
Fair value
The price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants
Three auditing approaches
- Review and test management’s processes
- Independently develop an estimate
- Review subsequent events
Primary functions of audit documentation
Support the auditors’ compliance with auditing standards, support the auditors’ opinion
Secondary functions
Assist continuing and new audit team members in planning and performing the audit, serves as a record of matters of continuing audit interest, assists in supervision and review of the audit, demonstrates the accountability of team members, assists internal reviewers, external peer reviewers, PCAOB inspectors, and successor auditors in performing their roles
Audit documentation should be sufficient to
- Enable an experienced auditor to understand the work performed and the significant conclusions reached
- Identify who performed and reviewed the work
- Show that the accounting agrees or reconciles to the financial statements
9 types of working papers
- Audit administrative
- Working trial balance
- Lead schedules
- Adjusting journal entries and reclassification entries
- Supporting schedules
- Analysis of a ledger account
- Reconciliations
- Computational
- Corroborating documents
2 types of working files
- Current files
- Permanent files
Current files
Current year working papers, index and cross-referencing
Permanent files
Items of continuing audit interest
6 steps of audit process
- Plan the audit
- Obtain an understanding of the client and it’s environment, including internal control
- Assess the risks of material misstatement and design further audit procedures
- Perform further audit procedures
- Complete the audit
- Form an opinion and issue the audit report
Plan the audit
Establish an understanding with the client through an engagement letter, determine firm meets independence requirements, no management integrity issues, client understands terms
Items in engagement letters
- Name of the entity
- Management responsibilities
- Auditor responsibilities
Obtain and understanding of the client and it’s environment
Perform risk assessment procedures
Two types fraud risks
- Fraudulent financial reporting (management fraud)
- Misappropriation of assets (defalcations)
Audit trail
Evidence that links source documents journal entries and ledger entries