AUDITING AND ASSUARANCE Dec 2008

 QUESTION ONE

Working papers provide the audit evidence. They can be categorized into:

• Auditors‘ prepared working papers.
• Client‘s schedules used as working papers. iii.       Audit programmes.

Working papers are then organized into files usually referred to as either current files of permanent files.

 

Required:

• What details should each working paper which is prepared by an auditor indicate?

(5 marks)

• What details should each client schedule used as a working paper indicate? (4 marks)
• What details should an audit programme indicate? (5 marks)
• With appropriate illustrations, differentiate the use and contents of a permanent file

from a current file and write brief notes on the evidence that is provided by working  papers.     (6 marks)

(Total: 20 marks) 

 

 

QUESTION ONE

 

The details that should b contained in each working paper prepared by an auditor include:

The audit objective that the auditor is trying to test by the information contained in the   § working paper;

• Details of the source of information documented in the working paper;  Details of the person who prepared the working paper;
• Details of review of the working paper
• The date of preparation

 

Each client schedule used as a working paper should indicate:

• The client personnel who prepared the working paper;
• The date of preparation
•  An audit programme should include the following:

• The accounting area or balance to which the audit programme relates to;
• The audit objective that the auditor is testing;
• The audit procedures to be carried out;
• The conclusion on the audit objective basing on the evidence obtained;
• The details of the person who prepared the programme, the reviewer and date of review.
•  A permanent audit files contains information that is relevant for more than one financial year i.e information that is useful to the auditor for more than one financial year and is not specific to a single financial period. For example the letter of engagement is contained in a permanent audit file. The engagement letter contains the terms of the contract between the auditor and the client. This information is required by the auditor in every financial period.

 

On the other hand the current audit file contains information that is relevant for the current financial period under audit. For example confirmations obtained from

debtors are only relevant for the specific financial period being audited.

Audit working papers provide evidence on the audit objective that the auditor was testing, information obtained in relation to that audit objective and the conclusion drawn by the auditor as supported by the evidence documented in the working papers.

 QUESTION TWO

The matter listed below are always included in the internal control of a firm.

You are required to explain the purpose of each of the items listed as (a), (b) and (c) below. Indicate the compliance tests you would carry out in order to ensure that the intended controls were operating properly.

 

• A requirement that mail is opened by two responsible employees who must promptly

make listings of all receipts. (7 marks)

• A rule that a fixed asset register must be maintained and updated promptly. (6 marks)
• A requirement that a bank reconciliation statement is prepared on monthly basis.

 

(7 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION TWO

 

• a) The purpose of requiring that mail is opened by two persons

To ensure that all receipts by mail are accounted for. The two persons will over look  the   activities of each other to ensure that all collections are recorded;

To reduce the risk that one individual could be tempted to conceal some of the receipts and     latter misappropriate the collections;

To ensure that the receipts are accurately recorded. One person will counter check to   ensure that the receipts are correctly recorded.

 

• The tests of controls that I would carry out in order to ensure that the control was operating properly will include:
• is conducted by two persons;Attending one of the sessions when mail is being opened to observe that the exercise

Inspecting the listing of the receipts to confirm that it is accurately prepared and  

• all the receipts for the day are recorded;

Inquiring from officials of the client that the opening of the mail is always conducted   by two persons and inspecting a sample of the listings prepared

 

during the year to confirm that there is evidence that the mail opening was indeed conducted by two persons.

 

 The purpose of requiring that a fixed assets register must be maintained and promptly updated:

 

A fixed assets register provides details of all the assets of the company, the location, serial identification number, person who has custody, cost, depreciation policy and the

      net book value among other details. This register serves the following purposes:

Ensures that there proper records showing all the purchases and disposals of fixed assets     i.e. all the movements in the fixed assets are accounted for;

Makes it easy to physically verify the existence of the assets. By using the register one can     be able to trace the location of the assets;

Increases accountability over the usage of the assets because all the assets are under   assigned specific persons who control their usage;

• Reconciling the fixed  assets  register  to  the  ledger  ensures  completeness  and   accuracy of the fixed assets balances in the ledger.

Tests over the operation of this control

Inspecting the register to confirm that it is updated with all the assets movements and  

reconciles to the general ledger;

Inspecting the register to verify that a senior responsible person reviews the   register on a regular basis to ensure completeness and accuracy.

 

•  The purpose of preparing a bank reconciliation statement on a monthly basis:

 

Such a reconciliation is useful in ensuring the completeness and accuracy of the bank balance as appearing in the ledger. By reconciling the cash book balance to the bank statement transactions that have not been captured in the cash book such as interest charged/earned will be highlighted and subsequently recorded. In addition any errors made in recording transactions in the ledger will also be     identified and corrected.

Such a reconciliation will highlight any fictitious transactions that have gone through the bank for example fraudulent payments which have not been captured

    in the cash book will be identified;

The reconciliation will also highlight any errors that might have been made by the bank such as debiting the accounting with a larger amount than was paid out. Such   errors can then be followed up with the bank.

 

                     Testing the operation of this control

• I will inquire whether the reconciliation‘s are indeed prepared on a monthly basis;

Inspect a sample of the reconciliation‘s and confirm that they are indeed prepared on a monthly basis and that there if evidence of review by a senior responsible

• person;

Inspect a sample of the reconciliation‘s to confirm that they are accurately prepared, the reconciling items are promptly cleared and that there are no unexplained   variances.

 QUESTION THREE

Write brief notes on the following auditing techniques:

Ispection;      (4 marks)

Observation; (3 marks)

Enquiry.             (3 marks)

• Define the term audit programme. (2 marks)
• Write in point form an audit programme to cover salary and wages of a small size         (8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION THREE

• You are required to write brief notes on the following

 

• Inspection

This consists of examining records, documents or tangible assets. The reliability of the evidence obtained from inspection of records and documents depends on the nature, source and effectiveness of the internal control system. Inspection of tangible assets provides evidence with respect to their existence but not as to    their value and ownership.

• Observation

This involves looking at procedures being performed by others. E.g. observing the counting of stock by the client‘s personnel.

 

• Inquiry

Inquiry consists of seeking information of knowledgeable persons inside or outside the entity. This ranges from formal written inquiries addressed to 3^rd parties to oral inquiries addressed to persons within the entity. The information may be new to the auditor or may corroborate evidence from other sources.

 

• You are required to define the term audit programme

Audit programs describe how the audit approach is to be implemented. Auditors develop an audit program for each material account balance or account balance assertion. An audit program describes what and how much evidence is required to be gathered and evaluated, and how, when and by whom it is to be gathered and evaluated during the interim and final visits. In other words, an audit program details the nature,timing and extentofthe planned audit procedures relating to a particular accountbalance or account balance assertion.

 

• You are required to write an audit programme to cover salary and wages of a small size firm

 

Audit Programme over salaries and wages

Client	XYX Company Limited
Financial period	Year ended 31 December 2003
Accounting area	Salaries and wages
Prepared by	David Mwindi
Reviewed by	Joseph Kamau
Audit Objective n To obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that: Completeness n Existences n Accuracy Of salaries and wages is not significantly misstated
Audit Procedure		Work	Reviewed
		paper	by and
		reference	date
Tests of controls n Verify that the payroll is reviewed andauthorised by a senior responsible officialbefore the salaries are paid; n Confirm that the computation of wages iscarried out by an independent person n Confirm that a review of new employees whohave joined the company and leavers is carriedout before wages and salaries are paid; n Confirm that a month-to-month reconciliationis prepared and changes in wages and salariesfrom one month to the next investigated.

 

 

Substantive procedures            ^{Analytical review}

n

Compare the current years wages and salaries to the previous year and obtain explanations  

• for any significant movements noted; n

For salaries perform a reasonableness test by taking the previous year‘s audited salaries expense. Adjust this for any salary adjustments and for new employees and leavers. Compare the expected salary expense to the actual charge

• as per the client‘s ledger and obtain explanations for any significant variances;

n

For wages obtain the month on month average number of employees and the average rate of pay per day. Using this data recomputed the expected wages expense and compare this with the actual amount as per client‘s ledger. Obtain   explanations for any significant variances.

 

Tests of details

 

n

Obtain a sample of employees and compare the salary as per the payroll to the   employment contract;

QUESTION FOUR

 

During the course of an audit, the auditor attempts to obtain sufficient relevant and reliable evidence to provide the satisfaction that the financial records are completed and accurate. One of the ways that the auditor obtains satisfaction is to select representative samples of transactions and balances for detailed testing, such samples being made using either statistical of non-statistical methods.

 

Revision Questions and Answers

 

Required:

• Describe the main factors which influence the auditor in determining the size of the

sample he will use for his detailed testing.                                           (12 marks)

• Describe three areas where the judgment will be exercised by the auditor when using       statistical sampling.         (8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION FOUR

 

• The following factors influence the auditor in determining the size of the sample for his detailed testing.

 

• _{smaller the sample size.}The tolerable error or deviation rate – the larger the tolerable error or deviation rate, the

Auditor‘s assessment of inherent risk. The higher the auditor‘s assessment of inherent risk, the larger the sample size. Higher inherent risk implies that there is a greater risk that the financial balance will be misstated. To reduce this risk the   sample.auditor will need  to extend the level of testing. This is achieved by testing a larger §

Auditor‘s assessment of control risk. The higher the auditor‘s assessment of control risk, the larger the sample size. A high control risk implies that little reliance can be placed on effective operation of internal controls. To reduce the audit risk the auditor will need to extend the level of testing, this is achieved by increasing the size

• of the sample.

Expected error. This refers to the total error that the auditor expects to find in the population. The greater the amount of error the auditor expects to find in the population, the larger the size of the sample needed in order to make a reasonable     estimate of the actual amount of error in the population.

Auditor‘s required confidence level. The greater the degree of confidence that the auditor requires that the results of the sample are in fact representative of the actual     amount of error in the population, the larger the sample needs to be.

 

 Three areas where judgement is exercised by the auditor in using statistical sampling

 

Although statistical sampling applies probability theory in making sampling decisions it is not possible to eliminate the need to apply judgement in certain stages of the sampling process. These include:

 

• In planning the sample the auditor will need to apply his judgement in identifying the most appropriate population from which the sample will be selected. This is because after determining the audit objective, the auditor will need to identify the most appropriate population that will be tested to meet the audit objective. E.g. if the audit objective is to test debtors for recoverability the most appropriate population will be an aged debtors listing. The selection of this will require the use of judgement.

 

• Assessment of the tolerable risk, inherent risk, deviation risk and control risk requires the use of judgement. These factors are relevant in determining the appropriate size of the sample.

 

Judgement is required in evaluating the effect of the results obtained after testing the sample units and also in concluding whether the audit objectives have been achieved

QUESTION FIVE

 

Your firm audits Clean Paints Ltd. and you are planning the audit of stock and work in progress for the year ended 31 December 2000. Clean Paints Ltd. determines the value of stock in its financial statements by the year -end stocktake. There is no perpetual Stock Inventory System though stock is counted quarterly for the purposes of  management accounting. Stock and work in progress is held at the warehouse which is next to the company‘s factory.

 

Required:

• State the areas that you will expect the client‘s stocktaking instructions to cover.

(12 marks)

• Describe the work you will perform and the matters you will record at the stocktake

attendance.                                                                                (8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION FIVE

 

• Stock take instruction are issued to the staff undertaking the stock take to brief them on the procedures to be followed during the count. Definite instructions preferably in writing should be issued in all cases for the guidance of those who will be engaged in the actual stock taking. The instructions should contain:

 

	a.       The method of identification of the stock items and their ownership; b.      Counting, weighing or measuring. c.      Reporting of stocks which are damaged/defective. d.      The following issues should be addressed:
	§ Stocktaking should be well planned and carried out systematically by persons who are fully   informed of the duties involved;
	§ These persons should be familiar with the stock but supervisors should be from different   departments;
	§ Counting should be done by at least two people, one to count and the other to check and   record what has been counted;
	§ Stocks should be marked to facilitate counting and avoid double counting;
	§ The whole stock taking area should be divided into sections for control purposes and   avoids double counting.
	§ Ensure that properly qualified personnel are available where specialised knowledge is   necessary to identify, quality and quantity of stock.
	§ Cut off procedures should be performed i.e. dispatch documents for all goods belonging to customers and still held by client and those that have already passed   to the customer. Such stock should be excluded from the stock take.
	§ Goods held in safe custody for others should not be recorded as part of the client‘s stock.
	§ Arrangements to confirm the goods held for the company by outside parties should be   made.
	§ There should be procedures to identify the slow moving and obsolete/damaged stock. §                                                 There should be procedures for identification of the stage of completion of work in progress.

 

 

• Work to be performed and matters to consider during the count

 

The main task is to ascertain whether the client‘s employees are carrying out their instructions properly so as to provide reasonable assurance that the stock take was accurate and not necessarily to count stock. This will be achieved by observing the way the count is conducted and also carrying out sample counts. When carrying out the sample counts the auditor should pick items from the shelves count these and compare the results with what was obtained by the count team. The following procedures should be carried out:

 

• He should make notes for follow up purposes of items counted in his presence, details of _{damaged, obsolete or slow moving items.}
• He should find out the methods of identifying slow moving obsolete or damaged stock.
• Record fully the work done and his impression of the stock take exercise.
• He must form a conclusion as to whether the stock take can be relied on.      § Get photocopies of rough stock sheets.
• Get details of the sequence of the stock sheets.
• Pay special attention to high value items during his sample tests;

If the auditor is not satisfied about the way stock taking was conducted he should inform   management and may request a recount.

 

Note that

The auditor should conclude whether stock taking was properly carried out and can be relied upon for determining the existence of stock. He should also try to gain from his observations an overall impression of the levels and values of stocks held so as he may judge whether the value of stocks appearing in the financial statements is reasonable

QUESTION SIX

 

―Most errors in computer based accounting systems can be traced to faulty input. Controls over the completeness and validity of all inputs are vital. Control over data conversions, controls over rejections and their correction and reprocessing, batch controls and computer edit controls affect both completeness and validity‖.

 

Required:

• Explain the controls that can be established over completeness of input. (6 marks)
• What controls can be established over validity? (6 marks)
• Programmed edit checks are probably the most familiar input controls and certainly             the most effective.  Give examples of these controls bringing out clearly:
• The name of the edit control. (2 marks) ii. Description of the control. (3 marks)
• The objective of the control.         (3 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION SIX

 

 You are required to explain the controls that can be established over completeness ^{of input}

Controls over completeness of input seek to ensure that all input data is captured by the              system for processing

n

Use of batch totals where by the total input data processed is compared with the  

• original batch totals;

n

Use of document count edit control to verify where transactions are supported by pre-numbered documents that all the transactions are recorded by reference to the

• documents utilised.

n

By investigating any data rejections to ensure that the reasons are   established and where   necessary the data resubmitted for processing;

n

Manual comparison of input data to output to ensure that all transactions have been  

• recorded;

n

Use of hash totals. A hash total is a control total without a defined meaning, such as the total of employee numbers or invoice numbers, that is used to verify the completeness of data. Thus the hash total for the employee listing by the personnel

• department could be compared with the total generated during the payroll run;

n

Use of record count edit control. This is a control total of the number of records processed   during the operation of a program.

     Controls over validity

These controls seek to ensure that only valid transactions are processed. The  controls that management can put in place include:

n

Validity checks in the hardware. This consists of the hardware that transmits or receives data comparing the bits in each byte to the permissible combinations in   order to determine whether they constitute a valid structure;

n

Reasonableness tests which check the logical correctness of relationships among the values of data items on an input and the corresponding master file record. For example if employees work only for eight hours, a reasonableness test could be performed to determine that no employee is credited with more than eight

     working hours. Such control will check for the validity of the input data;

n

Validity checks- these are tests of identification numbers or transaction codes for validity by comparison with items already known to be correct or authorised. For example KRA PIN numbers can be compared with the PIN   numbers in the personnel records

 The most common input controls are edit controls. Examples of edit controls include;

 

Type of edit control	Description of control	Objective
Missing field check	Checks that all essential data fields are	Ensures accuracy         of     the
	present and are of the right length	processed data.  Transactions cannot be properly processed if necessary data is missing
Valid character check	Checks that data fields appear to be of	Ensures  correctness of input
	the  right  type  e.g.  all  alphabetic,  all numerical or mixed.	data
Limit/reasonableness	Checks       that     data     falls      within	Ensures accuracy and validity
checks	predetermined reasonability  limits  e.g. hours  worked  do not  exceed a certain limit, maybe 8 hours a day.	of input data
Master file checks	Checks  that  all  codes  match  those  on	Ensures that data is processed
	master  files  e.g.  employee‘s  number matches  an  employee  number  on  the personnel file.	against the correct master file.
Check digit	Applies  an  arithmetic  operation  to  the	To ensure accuracy of data by
	code number and compares the result to the check digit	checking keystroke errors.
Document count	Agrees the number of input records in a	Ensures that all documents are
	batch with the total on the batch control form	input

QUESTION SEVEN

 

Specialists or experts are occasionally required by external auditors mainly in connection with the valuation assets and the determination of liabilities.

 

Required:

• The necessity for reliance on specialist. (12 marks)
• The extent to which the specialist should be independent?(5 marks)
• Competence of the specialist. (3 marks)

(Total: 20 marks

QUESTION SEVEN

 

• An expert or a specialist is a person possessing specialised skills, knowledge and experience in another field other than auditing and accounting. From his training and experience an auditor only has general knowledge on matters outside his profession and he is not expected to have the shills of a person trained or qualified to work in another profession. Consequently the auditor may need advice of other experts e.g. lawyers in arriving at the legal interpretation of legal cases against a client

 

Situations Where The Auditor May Require Advice of an Expert

 

• Legal interpretation of contracts, laws and regulations
•   Valuation of certain types of assets e.g. land and buildings, precious stones and minerals.

In            determining  quantities     and         physical condition              of            assets      e.g. underground minerals/quarries.

• Actuarial valuations;

Measurement of work completed/to be completed in contracts.

To be able to reach on objective conclusion on the financial effect of some of the transactions and events that have taken place the auditor may require the opinion of anexpert. Such an opinion or report will enhance the auditors‘ knowledge of the situation at hand and will therefore be able to conclude whether the financial effect of the issues have been properly dealt with in the financial statements

 

The extent to which the specialist should be independent

 

The auditor should evaluate the independence of the expert before relying on his work. If the expert is not independent of the client then there is a risk that the opinion given by the expert could be in the favour of the client. The auditor should therefore be on

      the look out for any factors that could impair the specialist‘s independence.

The risk of independence being impaired increases where the expert is employed by the client; in such cases he owes his loyalty to the client, or where he is related financially with the client.

 

The auditor should seek reasonable assurance that the expert‘s work constitutes appropriate audit evidence in support of the financial statements. The auditor should consider;

 

The skills and competence of the expert. The auditor should consider the expert‘s skills and competence in the particular profession. This is done by considering the expert‘s professional qualifications, license or membership of an appropriate professional body. The experience and reputation in the field in which the auditor is seeking evidence

QUESTION EIGHT

 

The auditing standard on subsequent events provide the basic principles and procedures  as to the auditor‘s responsibilities and deal with:

• Dating the auditor‘s report
• Audit procedures iii. Events after the date of the audit report.

 

Required:

• In the context of subsequent events, what is the significance of the data of the auditor‘s report?(3 marks)
• Outline the audit procedures considered necessary between the balance sheet date and             the date of the auditor‘s report.    (8 marks)
• Summarise the appropriate actions of the auditor regarding events after the date of the audit      (9 marks)           (Total: 20 marks) QUESTION EIGHT
  • You are required to discuss the significance of the date of the auditor‘s report in the context of subsequent events

   

  The auditor should perform procedures designed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that all events up to the date of the auditor‘s report that may require disclosure in the financial statements have been identified. The auditor‘s responsibility extends to the date on which he signs his report and he must obtain reasonable assurance that the effect of all material subsequent events are either disclosed or accounted for in the financial statements. The date of the auditor‘s report is therefore important because it determines the period where the auditor is

  responsible to perform audit procedures in respect of post balance sheet events.

  After the date of the auditor‘s report the directors are responsible for informing the auditor of any post balance sheet events that may require to be considered.

   

  • The audit procedures considered necessary between the balance sheet date and the date of the auditor‟s report

   

  n

  Reviewing procedures management has established to ensure that subsequent events are identified and inquiring whether any such events have occurred which

  • might affect the financial statements being reported on;

  n

  Reading minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and audit committees held after the end of the financial period. By reading such minutes the auditor is

  • would ordinarily be discussed at these meetings;able to identify any material subsequent events that might have occurred since t his

  n

  Review the entity‘s latest available interim financial statements and other reports such as budgets, cash flow forecasts. By reading such interim financial statements

  • the auditor is able to identify any subsequent events;

  n

  Inquiring from the entity‘s lawyers on litigation and legal claims against the company. This  

  • will provide further details on any developments on such litigations;

  n

  Inquiring from management whether any subsequent events have occurred   which might affect the financial statements.

   

  When the auditor becomes aware of events, which materially affect the financial statements, he should consider whether such events are properly accounted for in the financial statements.

   

  The auditor does not have any responsibility to perform procedures or make any inquiry regarding the financial statements after he has issued his audit report.

   

  During this period from the date of the auditor‘s report to the date when financial statements are issued to the directors of the company, the responsibility to inform the auditor of facts, which may affect the financial statements, rests with management.

   

  When after the date of the of the auditor‘s report but before the financial statements are issued to the shareholders, the auditor becomes aware of facts which may materially affect the financial statements, the auditor should consider whether the financial statements need to be amended. He should then discuss the matter with management and should take appropriate action depending on the circumstances.

  If management amends the financial statements to reflect the effect of the subsequent event, the auditor should carry out the necessary procedures and report on the amended financial statements.

  When management does not amend the financial statements in circumstances where the auditor believes they need to be amended and the auditor‘s report has not been released to the entity, the auditor should amend his report and express a qualified opinion or adverse opinion as appropriate.

  Where the auditor‘s report has been released to the entity he should notify the directors not to issue the financial statements and the auditor‘s report to the shareholders and other third parties. If the financial statements are subsequently released, the auditor should take action to prevent reliance on the auditor‘s report.

  Facts discovered after the financial statements have been issued to shareholders

  After the financial statements have been issued, the auditor has no obligation to make any inquiry regarding the financial statements. However, if it becomes aware of facts which existed at the date of the auditor‘s report and which if known, at that date, may have caused the auditor to modify his report, the auditor should consider whether the financial statements need to e revised, should discuss the matter with managements and should take action appropriate in the circumstances.

  When management revises the financial statements, the auditor should carry out the audit procedures necessary in the circumstances, should review the steps taken by management to ensure that any one in receipt of the previously issued financial statements together with the auditor‘s report thereon is informed of the situation and would issue a new report on the revised financial statements. The auditor‘s report should include an emphasis of matter paragraph referring to a note in the financial statements and to the earlier report issued by the auditor.

  Auditors actions regarding events after the date of the audit report