Audit Exam 2

Front 1

business processes

Back 1

revenue
purchasing
HR management
inventory management
financing/investing processes.

Front 2

assertion categories

Back 2

assertions about classes of transactions and events for the period under audit
assertions about account balances at the period end
assertions about presentation and disclosure

Front 3

assertions about classes of transactions and events for the period under audit

Back 3

occurrence
completeness
authorization
accuracy
cutoff
classification

Front 4

assertions about account balances at the period end

Back 4

existence
rights and obligations
completeness
valuation and allocation

Front 5

assertions about presentation and disclosure

Back 5

occurrence and rights and obligations
completeness
classification and understandability
accuracy and valuation

Front 6

audit procedures are performed to conduct

Back 6

risk assessment procedures - obtain understanding
tests of controls - evaluate operating effectiveness
substantive procedures - detect material misstatement

Front 7

concepts of audit evidence

Back 7

nature of audit evidence
sufficiency and appropriateness of audit evidence
evaluation of audit evidence

Front 8

reliability of evidence depends on

Back 8

knowledgeable independent source of evidence
effectiveness of internal control
auditor's direct personal knowledge
documentary evidence
original documents

Front 9

audit procedures for obtaining audit evidence

Back 9

footing, crossfooting recalculation
inquiry
vouching
examination/inspection
confirmation
analytical procedures
reperformance
reconciliation
observation
tracing
scanning

Front 10

reliability of evidence obtained through confirms is directly affected by the following factors:

Back 10

the form of the confirmation
prior experience with the entity
the nature of the information being confirmed
the intended respondent

Front 11

examples of recalculation

Back 11

footing
crossfooting
reconciling subsidiary ledgers to account balances
testing postings from journals to ledgers

Front 12

reliability of analytical procedures is a function of

Back 12

(1) the availability and reliability of the data used in calculations
(2) the plausibility and predictability of the relationship being tested
(3) the precision of the expectation and the rigor of the investigation

Front 13

two functions of working papers

Back 13

1. Provide principal support for the representation in the auditor’s report that the audit was conducted in accordance with GAAS
2. To aid in the planning, performance, and supervision of the audit

Front 14

types of audit documentation

Back 14

audit plan and programs
working trial balance
account analysis and listings
audit memoranda
adjusting and reclassification entries

Front 15

phases of an audit that relate to audit planning

Back 15

client acceptance and continuance
establish an understanding with the client
preliminary engagement activities
plan the audit

Front 16

questions to predecessor auditor

Back 16

Integrity of mgt
Disagreements with mgt over accounting and auditing issues
Communications with audit committee regarding fraud, illegal acts, and IC weaknesses
Predecessor’s understanding of reason for change in auditors
AFTER acceptance, not required
Permission to review working papers
specific inquiries

Front 17

procedures for evaluating a prospective client

Back 17

o Obtain and review available financial information
o Inquire of third parties concerning integrity of mgt
o Communicate with predecessor auditor
o Consider whether client has circumstances requiring special attention or that may represent unusual business or audit risks, such as litigation or going-concern.
o Determine if firm is independent of the client
o Determine if the firm has necessary skills and knowledge of industry
o Determine if acceptance would violate any applicable regulatory requirements or CPC.

Front 18

management responsibilities

Back 18

prepare FS
attest to internal control
abide by laws
availability of accounting records to auditors
making adjustments based on suggestions
provide mgt rep letter

Front 19

terms of engagement (engagement letter) should include

Back 19

Objectives of the engagement
management’s responsibilities
auditor’s responsibilities
limitations of the engagement
Arrangements involving use of specialists or internal auditors
Any limitation of the liability of auditor or client
Additional services

Front 20

3 topics discussed in establishing understanding with client

Back 20

o Engagement letter
o Internal auditors
o Audit committee

Front 21

auditor responsibilities

Back 21

conduct audit in accordance with GAAS/PCAOB AS
limitations: reasonable assurance
discuss fees charged
discuss timing

Front 22

requirements of the audit committee

Back 22

be a member of BOD and shall be independent.
directly responsible for appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of registered public accounting firm employed by company.
pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by its auditor
must have on-going communications with the auditors
must establish procedures for complaints received by company regarding accounting, internal control, and auditing.
must have authority to engage independent counsel or other advisors, as it determines necessary to carry out its duties.

Front 23

2 preliminary engagement activities

Back 23

1. determining audit engagement team requirements
2. Ensuring that the audit team and audit firm are in compliance with ethical requirements, including independence

Front 24

factors to consider in staffing the audit team

Back 24

enagement size and complexity
level of risk
any special expertise
personnel availability and competence
timing of work to be performed

Front 25

in determining the audit strategy, auditor should:

Back 25

o Determine scope of engagement
o Ascertain the reporting objectives to plan timing of audit
o Consider factors that will determine the focus of audit team’s efforts

Front 26

develop the audit plan

Back 26

Assess business risk and establish materiality
Assess need for specialists
Assess possibility of illegal acts
ID related parties
Conduct preliminary analytical procedures
Consider additional value-added services
Document audit strategy and plan and prepare audit programs

Front 27

audit procedures to ID transactions with related parties

Back 27

review:

list from management
filings with SEC
BOD minutes
conflict-of-interest statements
extent and nature of business transacted with major customers, suppliers, borrowers, and lenders for indications of previously undisclosed relationships
accounting records for large, unusual, or nonrecurring transactions
confirmations of loans receivable and payable for indications of guarantees

Front 28

types of audit tests

Back 28

risk assessment procedures
tests of controls
substantive procedures

Front 29

risk assessment procedures

Back 29

Inquiries of management
analytical procedures
observation and inspection

Front 30

tests of controls

Back 30

o Inquiries
o Inspection
o Observation
o Walkthroughs
o Reperformance

Front 31

2 categories of substantive procedures

Back 31

1. Tests of details of classes of transactions, account balances, and disclosures
2. Substantive analytical procedures

Front 32

3 phases of analytical procedures

Back 32

o 1. Preliminary analytical procedures – used to assist auditor to better understand business and to plan NET of procedures
o 2. Substantive analytical procedures – used to obtain evidential matter about assertions related to account balances or classes of transactions
o 3. Final analytical procedures - used as an overall review of the financial information in final review stage of the audit

Front 33

3 types of analytical procedures

Back 33

trend analysis
ratio analysis
reasonable analysis

Front 34

trend analysis

Back 34

compare CY to PY
compare budget to actual
compare CY to industry averages

Front 35

steps in substantive analytical procedures

Back 35

1. develop an expectation
2. define tolerable difference
3. compare expectation to recorded amount
4. investigate differences greater than tolerable differences
5. documentation requirements

Front 36

information to use in developing an expectation

Back 36

Financial and operating data
Budgets and forecasts
Industry publications
Competitor information
Management’ analyses
Analyst’s reports

Front 37

4 factors that affect precision of expectation

Back 37

disaggregation
plausibility and predictability of relationship being studied
data reliability
type of analytical procedure used to form expectation

Front 38

SAS 109

Back 38

understanding the entity and its environment and assessing the risks of material misstatement

Front 39

SAS 110

Back 39

performing audit procedures in response to assessed risks and evaluating the audit evidence obtained

Front 40

SAS 112

Back 40

communication of internal control related matters IDd in an audit

Front 41

COSO

Back 41

established a common definition of IC that addressed all interested users
addressed IC's for 3 main areas:
o Reliability of financial reporting
o Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
o Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Provided framework against which companies could assess their IC

Front 42

Potential Benefits to an Entity’s Internal Control from IT

Back 42

o Consistent application of business rules and performance of complex calculations in processing large volumes of transactions or data
o Better timeliness, availability, and accuracy of information
o Facilitation of additional analysis of information
o Better monitoring of the performance of the entity’s activities and its policies and procedures
o Reduction in the risk that controls will be circumvented
o Better segregation of duties through security controls

Front 43

Potential Risks to an Entity’s Internal Control from IT

Back 43

o Reliance on systems or programs that inaccurately process data, process inaccurate data, or both
o Unauthorized access to data that may result in destruction of data or improper changes to data
o Unauthorized changes to data in master files
o Unauthorized changes to systems or programs
o Failure to make necessary changes to systems or programs
o Inappropriate manual intervention
o Loss of data

Front 44

internal controls as defined by COSO consists of 5 components

Back 44

1. the control environment
2. the entity's risk assessment process
3. the information system and communication
4. control activities
5. monitoring of controls

Front 45

factors that affect the control environment

Back 45

communication and enforcement of integrity and ethical values
commitment to competence
participation of those charged with governance
management's philosophy and operating style
organizational structure
assignment of authority and responsibility
HR policies and practices

Front 46

management's philosophy and operating style

Back 46

o Approach to taking and monitoring business risks
o Attitudes and actions toward financial reporting
o Attitudes toward information processing and accounting functions and personnel

Front 47

client business risks can arise or change due to the following circumstances:

Back 47

• Changes in the operating environment
• New personnel
• New or revamped information systems
• Rapid growth
• New technology
• New business models, products, or activities
• Corporate restructurings
• Expanded international operations
• New accounting pronouncements

Front 48

for the information system, establish methods and records that will

Back 48

• Identify and record all valid transactions
• Describe on a timely basis the transaction in sufficient detail to permit proper classification of transactions for financial reporting
• Measure the value of transactions in a manner that permits recording their proper monetary value in the FS
• Determine the time period in which transactions occurred to permit recording of transactions in the proper accounting period
• Properly present the transactions and related disclosures in the FS

Front 49

control activities

Back 49

prenumbering of documents
authorization of transactions
independent checks to maintain asset accountability
documentation
timely and appropriate performance reviews
information processing controls
physical controls for safeguarding assets
segregation of duties

Front 50

limitations of internal controls

Back 50

collusion of employees
management override
human errors/laziness
not modifying IC as needed

Front 51

effective monitoring involves

Back 51

• Establishing a baseline for control effectiveness
• Designing controls based on the significance of business risks relative to the entity’s objectives
• Assessing and reporting results, including following up on corrective actions

Front 52

May follow substantive strategy for some or all assertions because of the following factors:

Back 52

The implemented controls do not pertain to the assertion the auditor is considering
The implemented controls ineffective
Testing the operating effectiveness of the controls would be inefficient.

Front 53

Auditor uses knowledge about the 5 components of internal control to

Back 53

o Identify the types of potential misstatement
o Pinpoint the factors that affect the RMM
o Design tests of controls and substantive procedures

Front 54

In determining whether an IT specialist is needed, consider the following factors

Back 54

o The complexity and usage of the entity’s IT control systems
o The significance of changes made to existing systems, or the implementation of new systems.
o The extent to which data are shared among systems.
o The extent of the entity’s participation in electronic commerce.
o The entity’s use of emerging technologies.
o The significance of audit evidence that is available only in electronic form.

Front 55

Auditor should obtain sufficient knowledge of the IS to understand the following:

Back 55

o The classes of transactions in the entity’s operations that are significant to the FS
o The procedures by which transactions are initiated, authorized, recorded, processed and reported
o The related accounting records supporting information and specific accounts in the FS that are involved in recording transactions
o How the IS captures other events and conditions that are significant to the FS
o The FS reporting process used to prepare the entity’s FS

Front 56

Services must be considered as part of entity’s IS if they affect any of the following:

Back 56

 How the client’s transactions are initiated
 The accounting records, supporting information, and specific accounts in the FS involved in the processing and reporting of the client’s transactions
 The accounting processing involved from the initation of the transctions in their inclusion the FS
 The financial reporting process used to prepare the client’s financial statements, including significant accounting estimates and disclosures

Front 57

Management must comply with the following requirements in order for its registered public accounting firm (external auditor) to complete an audit of ICFR

Back 57

o Accept responsibility for the effectiveness of the entity’s ICFR
o Evaluate the effectiveness of the entity’s ICFR using suitable control criteria
o Support the evaluation with sufficient evidence, including documentation
o Present a written assessment regarding the effectiveness of the entity’s ICFR as of the end of the entity’s most recent fiscal year.

Front 58

ICFR includes policies and procedures that

Back 58

o Pertain to the maintenance of records that reflect the transactions and disposition of assets of the company.
o Provide reasonable assurance that preparation of FS is in accordance with GAAP
o Receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorization of management.
o Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition that could have a material effect on the FS.

Front 59

3 steps of management's assessment process of ICFR

Back 59

o Identify financial reporting risks and related controls
o Evaluate evidence about the operating effectiveness of ICFR
o Consider which locations to include in the evaluation

Front 60

Examples of entity level controls

Back 60

o Controls within the control environment
o Controls over management override
o The entity’s risk assessment process
o Centralized processing and controls, including shared service environments
o Controls to monitor results of operations
o Controls to monitor other controls, including activities of the internal audit function, the audit committee, and self-assessment programs
o Controls over period-end FR process
o Policies that address significant business control and risk management practices

Front 61

Steps in the ICFR audit

Back 61

1. plan the audit of ICFR
2. ID controls to test using top-down risk based approach
3. Test the design and operating effectiveness of selected controls
4. Evaluate identified control deficiencies
5. form an opinion on the effectiveness of ICFR

Front 62

consider following activities in planning audit of ICFR

Back 62

• Role of risk assessment and risk of fraud
• Scaling the audit
• Using the work of others
• Materiality

Front 63

the following controls might address risk of fraud and management override:

Back 63

• Controls over significant, unusual transactions, particularly those that result in late or unusual journal entries
• Controls over journal entries and adjustments made in the period-end FR process
• Controls over related-party transactions
• Controls related to significant management estimates

Front 64

two categories of entity level controls require evaluation:

Back 64

1. control environment
2. period end financial reporting process

Front 65

assess the following in the control environment

Back 65

 Management’s philosophy and operating style promote effective ICFR
 Sound integrity and ethical values, particularly of top management, are developed and understood
 The BOD or audit committee understands and exercise oversight responsibility over FR and IC

Front 66

period end financial reporting process

Back 66

o Include procedures used to enter transaction totals in the ledger
o Select and apply accounting policies
o Initiate, authorize, record, and process period-end journal entries in the ledger
o Record recurring and non recurring adjustments to the FS
o Prepare annual and quarterly FS and related disclosures
o Even though these controls operate after the “as of” year-end reporting date, they are used to support the auditor’s “as of” date opinion

Front 67

To ID significant accounts and disclosures and their relevant assertions, the auditor uses the following risk factors:

Back 67

• Size and composition of the account
• Susceptibility to misstatement due to errors or fraud
• Volume of activity, complexity and homogeneity of the individual transactions processed through the account or reflected in the disclosure
• Nature of the account or disclosure
• Accounting and reporting complexities associated with the account or disclosure
• Exposure to losses in the account
• Possibility of significant contingent liabilities arising from the activities reflected in the account or disclosure
• Existence of related-party transactions in the account
• Changes from the prior period in account or disclosure characteristics
 In order to understand the likely sources of potential misstatements, the auditor

Front 68

 In order to understand the likely sources of potential misstatements, the auditor needs to do the following:

Back 68

• Understand the flow of transactions related to the relevant assertions, including how these transactions are initiated, authorized, processed, and recorded
• ID the points within the entity’s processes at which a misstatement, including a misstatement due to fraud, could arise that would be material
• ID the controls that mgt has implemented to address potential misstatements
• ID the controls that mgt has implemented over the prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could result in a material misstatement of the FS.

Front 69

Factors that may affect the risk associated with a control in the current year include:

Back 69

• The NET of procedures performed in previous audits
• The results of the previous year’s testing of the control
• Whether there have been changes in the control or process since the previous audit

Front 70

Risk factors that affect whether there is a reasonable possibility that a control deficiency will result in a material misstatement

Back 70

• Nature of FS accounts, disclosures, and assertions involved
• Susceptibility of the related asset or liability to loss or fraud
• Subjectivity, complexity, or extent of judgment required to determine the amount involved
• Interaction or relationship of the control with other controls, including whether they are independent or redundant
• Interaction of the deficiencies
• Possible future consequences of the deficiency

Front 71

indicators of material weakness

Back 71

• ID of fraud, whether or not material, committed by senior management
• Restatement of previously issued FS to reflect correction of MM
• ID by auditor of MM of FS in current period in circumstances that indicate that the misstatement would not have been detected by ICFR
• Ineffective oversight of company’s external FR and ICFR by audit committee

Front 72

Written representations made by management to auditor

Back 72

• Mgt is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective ICFR
• Mgt has performed an evaluation and made an assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s ICFR
• Mgt did not rely on work performed by auditor in forming assessment of ICFR
• Mgt’s conclusion about effectiveness of ICFR is based on control criteria as of specified date
• Mgt has disclosed to auditor all deficiencies in ICFR and which ones are significant
• Descriptions of any fraud that involves senior mgt or other significant employees
• Control deficiencies ID’d during previous engagements have been resolved
• Descriptions of changes in ICFR

Front 73

control deficiency

Back 73

design or operation of a control does not allow mgt or employees to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis

Front 74

material weakness

Back 74

a deficiency in ICFR such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the FS will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis

Front 75

design deficiency

Back 75

control necessary to meet relevant control objective is missing or an existing control is not properly designed so that even if the control operates as designed the control objective would not be met.

Front 76

operating deficiency

Back 76

properly designed control does not operate as designed or when a person performing the control does not possess the authority or qualifications to perform the control effectively.

Front 77

significant deficiency

Back 77

deficiency that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.