What are the key components of the audit strategy?
DUSTMEN-RR
According to ISA 300, what is the objective of the auditor?
To plan the audit so it will be performed effectively
According to ISA 300, what are the stages of the planning process?
Starts with a high-level audit strategy that is then translated into a more detailed audit plan that drives the work carried out by the audit team and shows how the strategy will be implemented
What does audit planning ensure? (6)
RAPIDO
What does ISA 315 require?
The auditor to gain an understanding of the entity in order to be able to identify risk
What external factors does ISA 315 detail as important in gaining an understanding of the business?
FIR
What internal factors does ISA 315 detail as important in gaining an understanding of the business?
PAIR
How does ISA 315 require the auditor to gain an understanding of the business? (6)
KA-CIAO
Why is materiality important in the audit?
The standard audit report sets out the scope of an audit stating that the engagement involves reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
Define materiality
An expression of the relative significance of a particular matter in the context of the financial statements as a whole. A matter is material if its omission or misstatement could influence the economic decision of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.
How does materiality influence the planning stage?
Drives the level of work to be carried out; e.g. sample sizes, whether to test a balance
How does materiality influence the audit process?
Influences the evaluation of audit evidence; e.g. if the auditor discovers a material misstatement then an adjustment to the financial statements should be requested
Why might an item, error, or misstatement be material?
Define the audit risk model
audit risk = inherent risk X control risk X detection risk
Define audit risk
The risk that the auditor arrives at an inappropriate opinion on the financial statements
What are the two elements of audit risk?
How can the risk that the financial statements contain a material misstatement occur?
2. Client controls do not prevent or detect misstatement (control risk)
How can the risk that the auditor fails to detect any material misstatements occur?
Define inherent risk
The risk that items in the financial statements will be misstated due to their nature. The susceptibility of a transaction, account balance or disclosure to material misstatement, irrespective of the internal controls in place.
What are the three levels of inherent risk?
BIE
Define control risk
The risk that a material misstatement would not be prevented, detected, or corrected by the accounting and internal control systems
Define detection risk
The risk that the auditor’s procedures will not detect a misstatement that exists in an account balance or class of transactions that could be material, either individually or when aggregated with misstatements in other balances or classes.
What does ISA 315 identify as indicators of significant risk? (6)
SCURFS
Define error
An unintentional misstatement in financial statements