Threats to auditor independence

The auditor must be independent of the business/company being audited. If there is a threat to auditor independence, it must be considered wisely, and appropriate steps must be taken. Self-interest threat The auditor might have a potential interest in the audit client. For instance, any audit team member may be looking to join the audit … Read more

What’s audit risk?

Audit risk refers to the possibility that a clean audited report may be issued when there is significant misstatement in the business financial statement. In other words, the auditor’s opinion is inappropriate as they failed to detect material misstatements in the business financial statement. Broadly, risk is classified into three types. 1-Inherent risk Inherent risk … Read more

Component auditor in auditing

The component auditor is the one who works as an auditor for the component financial statement. To better understand the concept of component auditor, it’s important to understand the following terms. Group auditor – Group auditor is the main auditor of the group and is responsible for auditing consolidated financial statements. Component auditor is the … Read more

Directional testing in audit?

Directional testing means the auditor opts to obtain assurance either via debit or credit. In other words, if the auditor performs audit procedures on sales (credit side), there is no need to perform audit procedures on receivables (debit side). So, performing audit procedures and collecting audit evidence on either side effectively works for the audit. … Read more

What is an operational audit?

An operational audit refers to an evaluation of business processes and operations. In this context, the planned/designed audit procedures are not limited to individual transactions/internal controls but also includes overall process efficiency and business operations. Why operational audit is important?  The following aspects make this concept important. Who is responsible for the operational audit? The … Read more

Bank confirmation letter

Bank confirmation letter are written correspondence confirming the existence of the account balance and other assets held in the bank. Direct confirmation letters received from banks are considered independent audit evidence helping ensure the existence and completeness of the cash balance and other assets held at the bank. Similarly, loans and other facilities with the … Read more

Quality control review in audit (QCR)

Quality control review refers to going through audit processes and the mechanics of the audit engagements. The review is designed to ensure assurance was conducted in line with applicable auditing standards and applicable policies. Let’s go through the steps involved in the QCR. Planning and analyzing the quality control review It’s important to plan and … Read more

Current audit file

The current audit file contains documents relevant to the current year’s audit. The documentation section is usually divided into the following sections. Scoping & planning documents The scoping and planning section contains, Legal and Compliance The legal & compliance section contains, There can be any other legal docs depending on the applicable compliance framework. Risk … Read more

Permanent audit file

Auditors maintain a permanent audit file to organize and store source documents relevant to future audits. In other words, this file contains documents to be used in the subsequent audit of financial statements. For instance, it contains a long-term loan agreement, leasing agreements, certificate of incorporation, long-term contracts, pension plans, fixed assets details, accounting policies, … Read more

What are the audit assertions?

Audit assertions are the building blocks of management’s claims regarding the truth and fairness of the transactions, balances, disclosures, and other information in the financial statement. While auditing financial statements, the auditor is liable to ensure each assertion applicable to the relevant information gives a true and fair view. So, if auditors are satisfied with … Read more