Chapter 5 - Audit objectives and evidence

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Chapter 5 - Audit objectives and evidence

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The key concepts of this chapter:

• Audit assertions - what the auditor gathers evidence to support.
• Audit evidence - it must be sufficient and competent.
• Audit procedures - how the auditor gathers the evidence.

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The Concept of Audit Assertions

• When management prepares the financial statements, they make five assertions about each line in the financial statements.
• For each line in the financial statements, the auditor's objective is to be sure that there are no material misstatements in these assertions.

The 5 assertions are

• Existence or occurrence
• Completeness
• Rights and obligations
• Valuation or Allocation
• Presentation and disclosure

Note that each line in the financial statements contains all assertions. However, the risk of misstatement for each assertion will vary according to the type of account. The auditor is more concerned about the higher risk assertions. For example, in general:

• Existence is a concern when auditing assets.
• Completeness is a concern when auditing liabilities.
• Occurrence is a concern when auditing sales.
• Completeness is a concern when auditing expenses.

Each assertion will be re-written as specific objectives. For example, see p. 149.

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Audit Evidence

To be sure that their are no material misstatements, the auditor gathers evidence. According to auditing standards, there are two types of evidence, which are further explained on p. 150, Figure 5-2.

• Underlying Accounting Data
• Corroborating Information

How much evidence does the auditor need? Auditing standards are very clear on this. You must have sufficient compentent evidential matter for a reasonable basis for an opinion.

• What is sufficient? Sufficient means enough. It is defined in terms of the population's characteristics. As an assertion becomes more ________, the auditor needs more evidence.
• material
• risky, ie, more prone to misstatement
• What is competent? Several characteristics are used to evaluate compentency:
• Relevant - Competent evidence must relate to the auditor's objective.
• Counting cash is very relevant for testing the existence of cash.
• Counting cash is not relevant for determining if cash's presentation is OK.
• Source - Consider the source of the evidence. Compentent evidence comes from:
• independent sources outside the client.
• a system with good internal control.
• through the auditor's direct personal knowledge.
• For example, see Figure 5-4, page 158.
• Timeliness - evidence relates to the balance sheet date. For example:
• Timely evidence: The auditor observes the client counting inventory on the balance sheet date.
• Not so timely: The client counts the inventory 1 month before the balance sheet date. This requires additional procedures because the auditor must test the changes in the inventory balance between the count date and the balance sheet date.
• Objectivity - competent evidence is objective rather than subjective. For example:
• Objective: Observation of physical assets verifies existence.
• Subjective: Opinion of credit manager about collectibility of accounts receivable. This relates to valuation.
• What is reasonable basis? - Auditors do not have to be 100% certain there are no material misstatements. You might say that you have a reasonable basis for an opinion if another prudent practioner would agree that there is less than a 5% chance that there is an undetected material misstatement.

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Audit Procedures

Audits are conducted in various phases. In each phase, certain procedures are often used.

Obtain understanding of internal control

For each audit done in accordance with GAAS, the auditor must obtain an understanding of internal control. The appropriate procedures are:

• Make inquiries.
• Inspect manuals and other documentation.
• Observe the client.

Tests of controls

The auditor may decide to test controls. If the tests show that the client's controls are effective at preventing and detecting errors, the auditor has obtained some evidence that there is a reasonable basis for issuing a report that there are no misstatements in the financial statements. How to test controls:

• Inquiries, inspections, and observations.
• Reperformance of client's activities.

Substantive tests

Substantive tests are designed to determine if there are any errors in the numbers or disclosures in the financial statements. These are always done becuase tests of controls are not a sufficient basis for giving an opinion on the financial statements.

• Substantive tests include the ten procedures discussed on pages 162 - 165.

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Taken from: http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~simonp/atg457/obj.html

Excerpt from Rich Dad Poor dad - Chapter Eight (getting Started)

Chapter Eight

GETTING STARTED

There is gold everywhere.

Most people are not trained to see it.

It really is easy to find great deals.

It’s just like riding a bike. After a little wobbling, it’s a piece of cake.

The problem is that our financial genius lies asleep, waiting to be called upon.

If you don’t, make up your own. Your financial genius is smart enough to develop its own list.

The reason is that they have not taken the time to develop their financial genius.

I offer you the following 10 steps as a process to develop your God-given powers, powers over which only you have control.

1.    Find a reason greater than reality: the power of spirit

2.    Make daily choices: the power of choice

3.    Choose friends carefully: the power of association

4.    Master a formula and then learn a new one: the power of learning quickly

5.    Pay yourself first: the power of self-discipline

6.    Pay your brokers well: the power of good advice

7.    Be an Indian giver: the power of getting something for nothing

8.    Use assets to buy luxuries: the power of focus

9.    Choose heroes: the power of myth

10.                       Teach and you shall receive: the power of giving

Find a reason greater than reality: the power of spirit

When I asked her what fueled her super-human ambition and

sacrifice, she simply said, “I do it for myself and the people I love. It’s

love that gets me over the hurdles and sacrifices.”

Those are my deep-seated emotional reasons. What are yours? If they are not strong enough, then the reality of the road ahead may be greater than your reasons.

but it was the deep emotional reasons that kept me standing up

and going forward.

I’ve learned that, without a strong reason or purpose, anything in life is hard.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A STRONG REASON, THERE IS NO SENSE READING FURTHER. IT WILL SOUND LIKE TOO MUCH WORK.

Make daily choices: the power of choice

Choice is the main reason people want to live in a free country.

We want the power to choose.

Financially, with every dollar we get in our hands, we hold the power to choose our future: to be rich, poor, or middle class. Our spending habits reflect who we are.

My best friend, Mike, had an asset column handed to him, but he still had to choose to learn to keep it.

Many rich families lose their assets in the next generation simply because there was no one trained to be a good steward over their assets.

I just choose to be rich, and I make that choice every day.

Invest first in education. In reality, the only real asset you have is your mind, the most powerful tool we have dominion over. Each of us has the choice of what we put in our brain once we’re old enough. You can watch TV, read golf magazines, or go to ceramics class or a class on financial planning. You choose. Most people simply buy investments rather than first investing in learning about investing.

I love CDs and audio books. The reason: I can easily review what

I just heard. I was listening to an investor say something I completely

disagreed with. Instead of becoming arrogant and critical, I simply listened to that five-minute stretch at least 20 times, maybe more. But

suddenly, by keeping my mind open, I understood why he said what he

said. It was like magic. I felt like I had a window into the mind of one of

the greatest investors of our time. I gained tremendous insight into the

vast resources of his education and experience.

The net result: I still have the old way I used to think, and I now have a new way of looking at the same problem or situation. I have two ways to analyze a problem or trend, and that is priceless.

The only way I can access their vast mental power is to be humble enough to read or listen to what they have to say.

Arrogant or critical people are often people with low self-esteem who are afraid of taking risks.

If you have read this far, arrogance is not one of your problems.

Arrogant people rarely read or listen to experts. Why should they?

They are the center of the universe.

In this case, their so-called intelligence combined with arrogance equals ignorance.

Listening is more important than talking.

They argue instead of asking questions.

Choose friends carefully: the power of association

They often think it rude or unintellectual. So I also learn from my friends who struggle financially. I find out what not to do.

I would say that one of the hardest things about wealth-building is

to be true to yourself and to be willing to not go along with the crowd.

Wise investors buy an investment when it’s not

popular. They know their profits are made when they buy, not when

they sell.

The reason you want to have rich friends is because that is where the money is made.

I’m not saying do it illegally, but the sooner you know, the better your chances are for profits with minimal risk.

That is what friends are for. And that is financial intelligence.

Master a formula and then learn a new one: the power of learning quickly

In order to make bread, every baker follows a recipe, even if it’s only held in their head. The same is true for making money.

I say, “You become what you study.” In other words, be careful what you learn, because your mind is so powerful that you become what you put in your head. If you’re tired of what you’re doing, or you’re not making enough, it’s simply a case of changing the formula via which you make money.

Working hard for money is an old formula born in the day of cavemen.

Pay yourself first: the power of self-discipline

If you cannot get control of yourself, do not try to get rich. It

makes no sense to invest, make money, and blow it. It is the lack of

self-discipline that causes most lottery winners to go broke soon after

winning millions. It is the lack of self-discipline that causes people who

get a raise to immediately go out and buy a new car or take a cruise.

I would venture to say that personal self-discipline is the number-one delineating factor between the rich, the poor, and the middle class.

Simply put, people who have low self-esteem and low tolerance for financial pressure can never be rich.

Pay your brokers well: the power of good advice

And the more money they make, the more money I make.

Information is priceless. A good broker should provide you with information, as well as take the time to educate you.

Just be fair, and most of them will be fair to you.

The real skill is to manage and reward the people who are smarter than you in some technical area.

Be an Indian giver: the power of getting something for nothing

True, I have lost money on many occasions, but I only play with money I can afford to lose.

So wise investors must look at more than ROI. They look at the assets they get for free once they get their money back. That is financial intelligence.

Use assets to buy luxuries: the power of focus

Remember, the easy road often becomes hard, and the hard road often becomes easy.

Choose heroes: the power of myth

I pretended I was a famous baseball player. It’s one of the most powerful ways we learn, and we often lose that as adults. We lose our heroes.

Copying or emulating heroes is true power learning.

By having heroes, we tap into a tremendous source of raw genius.

Teach and you shall receive: the power of giving

“If you want something, you first need to give,”

And when it comes to money, love, happiness, sales, and contacts, all one needs to remember is to give first.

It is true that your world is only a mirror of you.