...Auditing Standards Essay: Auditing Planning Broadly speaking, audit planning is specific guidelines for auditor to perform an audit. Audit planning is usually conducted at the beginning stage of audit process. AICPA (American Institute of Certificate Public Accounting), PCAOB (Public Company Oversight Board), and IFAC (The International Federation of Accountants) are organizations or non-profit corporations who contributes to developing standards and guidance in auditing area, including standards for audit planning. Thus, this essay will discuss the requirement, and compare and contrast, of standards and guidance for auditing planning that has been issued by them; as well, analyze the impact on the performance of the audit. AICPA, by its publication titled AUC Section 300, addresses guidance for auditors in planning an audit. This contains introduction, objective, requirements, and application and other explanatory material. First, the introduction part includes the scope in planning the audit, the role and timing of planning, and the effective date of this standard. The scope of planning an audit explains the responsibility of the auditor to plan an audit of financial statement. This section also mentioned to refer to section 600, Special Considerations – Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors) for further information related to the auditor’s responsibility. The role of planning and timing explains the adequate benefit in planning...
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...Mississauga Airport Mississauga Airport (MA) is one of Ontario’s smaller airports that has been established since 1965. MA has undergone a management change recently: a new Vice President has been appointed. MA has switched to another audit firm since the new VP is a good friend of the former engagement partner resulting in a conflict of interest. MA has now appointed E&Y as its new audit firm. The engagement partner has, in turn, appointed you to gather information about MA ‘s general and application controls as well as some of CAATs that we can use in this new audit. You spoke to some of MA’s employees and did some additional research regarding the MA’s operations. The observations based on the research have been outlined in the exhibits. Your next step is to analyze those observations and come up with the general and application controls that need to be tested as well as the CAATs that can be used to audit MA’s financial statements. MA’s year-end is December. Exhibit 1 1. To protect the safety of the airport and the airlines, Mississauga Airport uses security-screening processes, during which, the airport collects a passenger’s personal information during the following occasions: * When the prohibited items are found to be a threat to aviation security; * When the amount of the money carried by a passenger exceeds $10,000; * When passengers are not cooperative or use violence. 2. Earlier this year, a traveller was suspected to take...
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...Kristen Mihevc ACC/546 March 3, 2013 Scott Phillips March 3, 2013 Joe Bootwell Executive Senior Vice-President and CFO Apollo Shoes Inc. 100 Shoe Plaza Shoetown, ME 00001 Dear Mr. Bootwell, Thank you for taking the time to speak with Arnold Anderson, Darlene Wardlaw, and me last week. I understand from our conversation that you recently parted ways with your former auditing firm as a result of mutually incongruent goals. I appreciate your interest in Anderson, Olds, and Watershed (AOW) and want to explain some of the many audit and assurance services that my firm has to offer. As a publicly traded company, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires Apollo Shoes to submit audited financial statements as part of its annual 10-K filing. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 also requires auditors to attest to the effectiveness of internal controls in the financial reporting process. My firm has years of experience in supporting organizations with these requirements. Not only is an independent audit of financial statements required by law, but it can also serve to provide external stakeholders with assurance that your financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These stakeholders, including banks, investors, and other creditors, rely on this assurance to assess the amount of risk involved in investing in your business. Often, a set of audited financial statements...
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...EXAM COVER SHEET NOTE: This exam paper may be RETAINED by the student EXAMINATION DETAILS Course Code: Course Description: Date of exam: ACCT1111 Auditing and Assurance Services 28/10/2008 Start time of exam: 9:15 AM Duration of exam: 3hr 15min Total number of pages (incl. this cover sheet) 8 ALLOWABLE MATERIALS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES 1. Write your full name and student number on each examination booklet together with the number of examination books used. Students must not write during reading time. 2. This is a CLOSED BOOK Exam. 3. Commence each question on a new page. Carry out the instructions on the front cover of the examination script book and the front of this exam paper. 4. Non text storing calculators are allowed. 5. Bi-lingual dictionaries are not allowed. 6. No electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, electronic dictionaries etc. are permitted to be taken into the exam room. 7. The examination paper contains the following questions: Section A ONE essay questions 25 marks Section B TWO short answer questions 15 marks Section C FIVE application questions 60 marks Totalling 100 marks 8. To obtain a pass in this course, candidates must achieve at least 50 marks overall and obtain at least 50% of the total marks on this examination paper. 9. Attempt ALL questions and all parts of questions. 10. No dictionaries are allowed in this examination unless duly authorised as a special consideration by the Course Coordinator...
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...Fordham University Graduate School of Business ACGB 7171 Auditing of Accounting Systems I—Fall 2013 Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to introduce students to the auditor’s decision-making process in both an audit of financial statements and an audit of internal controls over financial reporting. The class consists of lecture, individual case studies and in class exercises. Students are given an introduction to the following topics: • Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) • The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and its related rules and interpretations • An auditors’ legal responsibilities • Auditors professional judgment • The evaluation and testing of internal controls • The effect of IT on the audit process • The development of an audit program • PCAOB standards • The auditor's reports Book: Auditing and Assurance Services by Arens, Elder and Beasley 14ed Publisher Pearson/PrenHall ISBN 978013257595 |2013 |Topic |Assignment/Chapter to read | |Thursday September 5th |Introduction to the CPA Profession and the Auditing |Chapters 1 and 2 | | |Environment | | | | ...
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...Auditing Auditing has been around since the mid-1800's, which originated in British. Some of firms today have been around since the 1800's, such as Deloitte & Co. Price Waterhouse & Co. In this paper, I will state the functions of auditing, the nature of auditing, how the standards apply to financial, operational, and compliance audits, and some other items that pertain to auditing in general. Nature of Auditing The nature of auditing is that auditors are placed with a special purpose, which is to provide credibility to the information that is reported on the financial statements, along with any other audits that are done by them.... [tags: Accounting Audit]1104 words (3.2 pages)FREE Essays[view]The History of Auditing - The History of Auditing Abstract The evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has always been changing through historical events. Auditing always changed to meet the needs of the business environment of that day. Auditing has been around since the beginning of human civilization, focusing mainly, at first, on finding efraud. As the United States grew, the business world grew, and auditing began to play more important roles. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, people began to invest money into large corporations.... [tags: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework] :: 6 Works Cited3399 words (9.7 pages)$39.95[preview]Auditing Percedure - The factor of client relationship that creates a power imbalance in favor of the client is money. When partners...
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...ACC305 – Auditing and Professional Practice Unit Outline – 2015 Unit Coordinator: Dr Chun Jiang (PhD, FCPA) 1|P age Introduction Welcome to Elite Education and ACC305 – Auditing and Professional Practice. This document provides you with information relevant to successful completion of this unit; including schedule of lecture topics, prescribed texts, assessment policies, assessment tasks, examinations, academic and administrative contacts and online learning support facilities. Student Handbook and Administration Office The Elite Student Handbook provides valuable general information for students and a printed copy will be provided to you. In addition, the Institute staff are available to assist you personally during office hours. Office Contact Details: Elite Education Institute 1 James Place, North Sydney, NSW 2060 Tel: 02 9212 2120 Unit Overview This unit introduces the major conceptual and technical aspects of auditing and assurance services. Accordingly, the unit provides critical insights into the auditor's legal and societal role, the underlying conceptual theory of auditing, professional auditing techniques, and contemporary auditing issues. The core theme of this unit is the external audit of corporations, from initial planning to final reporting in the context of a professional environment. Assumed Knowledge Prerequisite: ACC101 – Fundamentals of Accounting I, ACC102 – Fundamentals of Accounting II, and ACC204 – Advanced...
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...Name Chapter 1: Auditing: Integral to the Economy Description Instructions Modify Add Question Here Question 1 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question The need for assurance services arises because the interests of the users of information may be different from that of the interests of those responsible for providing information. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 2 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question An audit of financial statements is a form of attestation service. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 3 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Independence is an attribute necessary to perform assurance services. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 4 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question A bank using Milton Company's financial statements to determine the creditworthiness of a potential loan to Milton is a good example of the need for unbiased reporting. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 5 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Independence is only required for assurance service providers. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 6 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question A CPA automatically qualifies as an assurance provider in all areas of business. Answer True False Add Question Here Question 7 True/False 0 points Modify Remove Question Attestation services are a subset of assurance services and always involve a report that...
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...QUESTION 1) WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THIS PAPER AND WHAT IS HIS POSITION (GIVE DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES) WITH THE PCAOB AT THE TIME OF THIS ARTICLE. The author of this paper is Douglas R. Carmichael. On April of 2003, Mr. Carmichael was appointed the first Chief Auditor and Director of Professional Standards for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. As such he was the primary advisor to the PCAOB on policy and technical issues relating to the auditing of public companies, including but not limited to auditing standards, registration, inspection, and thus enforcement of any mandates that are part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. QUESTION 2) WHAT DOES CARMICHAEL SEE AS THE UNDERLYING MISSION OF THE PCAOB? Carmichael views the underlying mission of the PCAOB to be the restoration of the public’s confidence in the auditor’s reports and findings. Accounting scandals, involving companies like Enron and WorldCom, prompted Congress to adopt the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as a means to establish control over accounting and auditing functions. A main focus of Sarbanes-Oxley was the establishment of the PCAOB. The PCAOB is a nongovernmental body, fully funded by fees collected by public and investment companies that benefit from independent audits. They are charged with overseeing the audit of public companies that are subject to SEC laws and related matters of the kind. Carmichael states that the confidence is not only to be earned by the accountants and auditors producing and reviewing...
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...Ethics Audit Framework Essay # 3 Stephen Randall Texas A&M University – Central Texas Professor: Marshell J. Silva Ethics Auditing Ethics auditing by definition, an ethics audit is a “systematic evaluation of an organization’s ethics program and/or performance to determine its effectiveness.” This concept of ethics auditing is fairly new and few companies have conducted an ethics audit. However, performing such audits will likely become more mainstream as recent legislation encourages greater ethical accountability for companies to demonstrate they are abiding by the law and have established programs to improve their ethical decision making. The U.S. Sentencing Commission (the “Commission) has amended the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (“FSGO”) whereby an effective compliance and ethics program must “exercise due diligence to prevent, detect, and report criminal conduct and otherwise promote an organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with all applicable law." The Commission noted there are seven minimum requirements of an effective ethics program, standards and procedures to prevent and detect criminal conduct; Responsibility at all levels of the program, together with adequate program resources and authority for its managers; Due diligence in hiring and assigning personnel to positions with substantial authority; Communicating standards and procedures, including a specific requirement for training...
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...A college student decides she wants to become an accountant. General accounting and bookkeeping classes can be taken in high school. In college, the student needs to decide on a more specific field of accounting. An accountant has many choices as to what particular field of accounting to specialize in depending on the financial information she wants to analyze and how it is done. Financial accountants, tax accountants and internal auditors are all accountants in general, but require different training and work methods. A financial accountant records economic data and periodically prepares reports that show profit and other financial information of a company using the generally accepted accounting principles. The reports prepared by the accountant are useful for managers, and also for owners, creditors and the public. Based on information in the reports the public can use the reports to choose a company to invest in. Because a financial accountant is employed by an individual company, she is considered a private accountant. Another type of accountant is a tax accountant. A tax accountant prepares yearly tax returns for individual clients. The accountants have to use constant data such as rates of pay and other information to determine the proper amount of taxes to be paid. These accountants have to take a class once a year to catch up on yearly changes in tax laws and regulations. If a tax accountant has met state experience requirements, she may want to take exams to become a...
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...Essay 1. There are two different auditing functions internal auditing and external auditing. Internal auditors are a company’s own accounting employees that perform the audit. On the other hand, external auditors are from outside of the company and work for an independent CPA firm that performs an external audit. Internal auditors report to top management positions such as the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The internal auditing function involves five main evaluations. 1) Employee compliance with organizational policies and procedures, meaning that employees are not breaking or violating the company’s rules. 2) Effectiveness of operations, meaning that the company’s controls and production are operating as efficiently as possible. 3) Compliance with external laws and regulations, meaning that the company’s procedures and operations do not violate any governmental or business laws. 4) Reliability of financial reports, meaning that the financial reports are not biased or construed in a way that would cause misrepresentation. 5) Internal controls, this means that the company is protected (as well as possible) against fraud, theft, and corruption. Overall, the internal audit function checks the efficiency and integrity of almost the entire company. The internal audit benefits the company’s management and employees to check and ensure that company procedures are efficient and legal. The company would rather have a mistake or fraudulent information be caught by the internal...
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...Auditing and Assurance Introduction The essay is mainly discussing that Transval Ltd wants to hire a new auditing team and depend on the request that be given to the new auditor, whether the new auditor should accept the offer to audit for Transval Ltd or not. Upon that, the essay also talks about the threats to the objectivity as an auditor and the ways to mitigate these threats. Last part of the essay is talking about the risks that could cause misstatements to the financial statements and how quality control can mitigate them. A) Firstly, according to the information given from the case, there is a part of inventory not located at Transval Ltd. This part of inventory is located at customers’ premises which means Transval Ltd has to count inventory quarterly from each customer. Consider about this, there might be a misstatement happened here. Auditors have to get the right and overall information from the company to do the audited accounts. There is a possibility that the information like financial accounts from the customers’ companies are not overall or if there is any mistake in it, the auditor will not know. The audited account will not be accurate if that happened. Secondly, the firm’s most of existing customers are from the retail and service sectors. So as an auditor from this kind of firm might not have enough experience on the company like Transval Ltd. Transval Ltd is a company which make plastice balls for use in the injection moulding business. The...
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...Research Method Internal Auditing versus external Auditing When it comes to the subject of the audit, one will often find the concepts of internal audit and external audit. If these two audits are necessary for the good functioning of company, and if the collected sources agree that the skills required for these two notions are relatively identical, it remains not only tasks and the environment of the internal auditor and the external auditor differ. In order to best support our report, we gave a point of honour to diversify sources and points of view. Our researches were principally based on key words such as: internal auditing, external auditing, differences between auditors, cooperation between auditors, similarities between external and internal auditing. The diversification of our sources has in fact been paramount and allowed us to have a global vision of the subject and the issues it implies. So we will be based on data of the IFACI and the CNCC, the point of view of a University Professor, that of an NLC internal auditor, reflections and axes of various analysis collected from the blog Be audit you can Be (http://amais5.tumblr.com/). In the light of the evidence and their convergence on some specific aspects concerning the general question “How internal and external auditors can benefits for each other ?”, the following questions are imposed on us as problematic to treat during this report: What precisely are the differences between these two audit activities...
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...because materiality represents the magnitude of an omission or misstatement of an item in a financial report. The three function of the audit risk are inherent risk (IR), control risk (CR), and detection risk (DR). Every level of audit risk has an opposite connection that exists between assessed levels of controls, inherent risk, and level of detection risk Why do certain accounts have to be audited 100%? Accounts need to be audited 100% so the users of the financial statements can rely on the information and be able to make decisions for investment purposes. It also helps management make sure the company is profitable as well as following rules and regulations of the accounting standards and policies. Auditing accounts are done to protect the investors, shareholders, banks, and to give assurance that the information is true and correct. Account types such as inventory, accounts payable, property, plant and equipment are not required to fully be audited as it is a time-consuming process. Accounts that are audited 100% are accounts most relevant to the industry that the company represents. Why is materiality allocated only to those accounts that are sampled?...
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