... 2. Understand drivers for audit regulation. 3. Understand the role of public oversight. 4. Distinguish between different audit firms. 5. Identify some current developments in the audit market. 6. Portray the series of industry codes of conduct and guidance 2.2 Introduction The emergence of today’s auditors happened during the Industrial Revolution that started in Great Britain around 1780. This revolution led to the emergence of large industrial companies with complex bureaucratic structures and, gradually, the need to look for external funds in order to finance further expansion: the separation between capital provision and management. Both developments resulted in demand for the services of specialists in bookkeeping and in auditing internal and external financial representations. The institutionalization of the audit profession was then merely a matter of time. Management Controls Operations and Communications Management has control over the accounting systems and internal controls of the enterprises that auditors audit. Management is not only responsible for the financial and internal control reports to investors, but also has the authority to determine the precise nature of the representations that go into those reports. However, management can scarcely be expected to take an impartial view of this process. Communications to Stakeholders – the Financial Statements The financial statements measure the financial and non-financial performance and financial...
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...There are numerous threats to auditor independence. Derived from Porter, Et Al (2014) - Firstly, Self-interest threat which are dangers that emerge from auditors acting to their own interest. Auditors may support, intentionally or intuitively, those self-intrigues over their enthusiasm for performing a quality review. The auditors’ relationship with bluebird limited creates a financial self-interest because they pay the auditors’ fees. Auditors also have a financial self-interest if they own stock in an auditee; as I have just inherited a 3% shareholding in bluebird, the quality of the audit may be lacking as a financial self interest may be obtained by me, for example excluding some pieces of vital information from the audit to serve my own financial interests. Another kind of threat, known as Self-review may be brought about. These are threats that emerge from inspectors inspecting their own particular work or the work done by others in their firm. It might be harder to assess without predisposition one's own particular work, or that of one's firm, than the work of another person or of some other firm. As the auditor has a 3% shareholding in bluebird, a self-review threat may arise if I was to review judgements and decisions I, or others within the firm, have made. Familiarity (or trust) threats are threats that emerge from auditors being impacted by a close association with an auditee. Such a risk is available when auditors are not adequately suspicious of an auditee's...
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...Committee to explain the background to the development of the revised code and to give our readers a brief overview of what it covers. Many Irish Chartered Accountants are probably only vaguely aware of the existence of IFAC - the International Federation of Accountants - as a global body that sets professional standards for the accountancy profession and of which their Institute is a member. A much smaller number would have any detailed knowledge of what these professional standards cover or of how they impact on local requirements as promulgated by their own Institute. This article is about ethical matters and the activities of the IFAC Ethics Committee. Besides ethics, IFAC Boards and Committees develop international standards on auditing and assurance (ISAs), on education and on public sector accounting. Each of the member bodies of IFAC - there are 163 currently from all parts of the globe - undertakes to use their best endeavours, subject to national laws and regulations, to implement the standards issued by IFAC in each of these fields. So, ICAI - and indeed, the other UK and Irish based accounting bodies that have members in Ireland - have obligations to promulgate IFAC standards and to monitor their members' performance against them. In the case of ethics, 2005 has been an important year for IFAC activities. After three years of drafting, consultation, exposure and revision the IFAC Ethics Committee finally released a new Code of Ethics at the end of June 2005....
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...Where the firm obtains information that would have caused it to decline an engagement if that information had been available earlier, policies and procedures on the continuance of the engagement and the client relationship should include consideration of: (a) The professional and legal responsibilities that apply to the circumstances, including whether there is a requirement for the firm to report to the person or persons who made the appointment or, in some cases, to regulatory authorities; and (b) The possibility of withdrawing from the engagement or from both the engagement and the client relationship. 35. Policies and procedures on withdrawal from an engagement or from both the engagement and the client relationship address issues that include the following: • Discussing with the appropriate level of the client’s management and those charged with its governance regarding the appropriate action that the firm might take based on the relevant facts and circumstances. • If the firm determines that it is appropriate to withdraw, discussing with the appropriate level of the client’s management and those charged with its governance withdrawal from the engagement or from both the engagement and the client relationship, and the reasons for the withdrawal. • Considering whether there is a professional, regulatory or legal requirement for the firm to remain in place, or for the firm to report the withdrawal from the engagement, or from both the engagement and the client...
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...Threats to Compliance With The Fundamental Principles 1. Self-interest threat – the threat that a financial or other interest will inappropriately influence the professional accountant’s judgment or behavior. Examples of the circumstances that may create self-interest threat include: a. A direct financial interest or material indirect financial interest in a client b. A loan or guarantee to or from a client or any of its directors or officers c. Undue independence on total fees from a particular client d. Concern about the possibility of losing the engagement e. Having a close business relationship with a client f. Potential employment with a client g. Contingent fees relating to an engagement 2. Self-review threat – the threat that a professional accountant will not appropriately evaluate the results of a previous judgment made or service performed in forming a conclusion about the subject matter of the engagement. Examples of the circumstances that may create self-review threat include: a. A member of the engagement team being, or having recently been, a director or officer of the firm. b. A member of the engagement team being, of having recently been, an employee of the client in a position to exert direct and significant influence over the subject matter of the engagement. c. Performing services for a client that directly affect the subject matter of the engagement. d. Preparation of original data used to generate financial...
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...1 Session 4 Audit Planning; Materiality and the audit risk model Auditing: Principles and Methods 2 After studying this session you should be able to: 1. Discuss why adequate audit planning is essential 2. Make client acceptance decisions and perform initial audit planning 3. Gain an understanding of the client’s business and industry 4. Assess client business risk 5. Perform preliminary analytical procedures 6. Apply the concept of materiality to the audit 7. Define risk in auditing and the audit risk model Auditing: Principles and Methods 3 8. Consider the impact of engagement risk on acceptable audit risk 9. Discuss the relationship of risks to audit evidence 10. Answer the Review Questions Auditing: Principles and Methods 1. Audit Planning 4 Why is adequate audit planning essential? “The auditor must adequately plan the work and must properly supervise any assistants”. There are three main reasons why the auditor should properly plan engagements: to enable himself to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence, to keep audit cost reasonable and to avoid misunderstanding with the client. Auditing: Principles and Methods 1. Audit Planning 5 An important part of audit planning is assessing acceptable audit risk and inherent risk because it helps determine the amount of evidence that will need to be accumulated and staff assigned to the engagement. Acceptable audit risk is a measure of how willing the auditor is to accept that the FSs...
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...Medium 5. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has the primary authority to establish accounting standards. Answer: False Difficulty: Easy 6. An annual peer review is a requirement of the AICPA. Answer: False Difficulty: Medium 7. Many small companies elect to have their financial statements reviewed by a CPA firm, rather than incur the cost of an audit. Answer: True Difficulty: Easy 8. Staff assistants in CPA firms generally are responsible for planning and coordinating audit engagements. Answer: False Difficulty: Easy Whittington, Principles of Auditing, Fifteenth Edition 1 Chapter 1 The Role of the Public Accountant 9. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that auditors of publicly traded companies in the United States perform an integrated audit that includes providing assurance on both the financial statements and on compliance with laws and regulations. Answer: False Difficulty: Medium 10. Auditing is frequently only a small part of the practice of local CPA firms. Answer: True Difficulty: Medium Multiple Choice Questions 11. A summary of findings rather than assurance is most likely to be included in a(n): A) Agreed-upon procedures report. B) Compilation report. C) Examination report. D) Review report. Answer: A Difficulty: Medium 12....
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...Nature of Auditing and the Public Accounting Profession 1. Auditing neither creates goods nor adds utility to existing goods and therefore does not add value to business. Auditing exists only because it has been legally mandated. Auditing exists because it is needed by the company. It is beneficial to users who need assurance if their financial statements reflect economic conditions that occurred in a period. Without reliable information, companies might make less effective decisions which are risky for the value of business. It may neither create goods nor add utility to goods but it adds value to business because it is a source of information for a business’ decisions. 2. The failure of the public accounting profession to warn us of the problems that existed in the economy is an example of a profession not adding utility to society. Accounting records, classifies, and summarizes economic events to provide financial information for decision making. It does not study the problems in the economy but it helps management to make effective decisions despite economic problems. That way, accounting profession is an added utility to society. 3. The only reason I would hire an auditor is with the expectation that the auditor search for and find any fraud that might exist within my company. Searching for fraud should be the primary focus of an audit. Fraud involves deception that can result to material misstatements of financial information and is not good for...
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...Chapter 2 The CPA Profession Review Questions The four major services that CPAs provide are: 1. Audit and assurance services Assurance services are independent professional services that improve the quality of information for decision makers. Assurance services include attestation services, which are any services in which the CPA firm issues a report that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of an assertion that is the responsibility of another party. The four categories of attestation services are audits of historical financial statements, attestation on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, reviews of historical financial statements, and other attestation services. Accounting and bookkeeping services Accounting services involve preparing the client's financial statements from the client's records. Bookkeeping services include the preparation of the client's journals and ledgers as well as financial statements. Tax services Tax services include preparation of corporate, individual, and estate returns as well as tax planning assistance. Management consulting services These services range from suggestions to improve the client's accounting system to computer installations. 2-1 2. 3. 4. 2-2 The major characteristics of CPA firms that permit them to fulfill their social function competently and independently are: 1. Organizational form A CPA firm exists as a separate entity to avoid an employer-employee relationship with its clients...
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...ACC 4291 INTEGRATED CASE STUDY Case Summary: Androids Under Attack SEM 1 2013/2014 Case Synopsis 1918 : Arthur Androids form an audit firm called Androids & Co. For many years, the Androids’ motto was “Think straight, talk straight” as it emphasis on honesty. 1987 : David Lawrence appointed as Androids’ partner in charge of auditing Enronaa’s accounts. His job was to check Enronaa’s accounts and to make sure that they fairly represent the state of the business. 1997 : US SEC found Androids guilty of issuing materially false and misstatement audit reports on Solid Waste financial statements for the period 1993 through 1996. Androids and Solid Waste agreed to pay USD 229 million to settle the class-action suit. The Solid Waste case followed Androids’ decision to pay USD 110 million to settle a lawsuit on audits at Sunbaemic. Both cases are the point of discussion between David and Ken Bailey, a junior partner to solve the Enronaa’s case. 2001 : David began to painfully explain the technical intricacies of Enronaa’s accounting to Ken. Both of them knew that the firm is in deep trouble and another scandal in the likes of Enronaa may end their business. The future of 85,000 staffs in 390 offices in 84 countries lies in David’s hand. Protagonist/Decision-maker Obviously, the decision-maker of the case is David Lawrence; one of the Androids’s partners. He is in...
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...REPORT OF COOPER AUDITING FIRM OF APOLLO SHOES, INCORPORATED To: The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Apollo Shoes, Incorporated The ____ Auditing Firm audited the balance sheets of Apollo Shoes, Inc. beginning December 31, 2008 and 2009 and the reports shared to the revenue, complete revenue, investors’ equity, and cash-flow for the period of two years that ended on December 31, 2008. ___ Auditing Firm has evaluated the manager’s statements of Apollo Shoes, Inc. that is placed with the attached Management’s Report in the part of the Internal Control-Over Financial Reporting. In this part, Apollo Shoes, Incorporated has retained effective internal control over financial reporting beginning December 31, 2008, the concern of a variety of standards, of the Internal Control Integrated Framework distributed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Apollo Shoes’ organization has a responsibility to uphold accurate financial statements, keeping effective internal control over financial reporting, and evaluation of internal control over the financial reporting system. __ Auditing Firm is accountable for issuing a professional judgment that will exemplify a complete evaluation of the financial statements, organization’s evaluation, and efficiency and success of the organizations internal control over financial reporting according to the auditing decisions of __ Auditing Firm. ___ Auditing Firm has performed the audit in agreement with the...
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...instability and the compromising factor of accounting profession itself. Out of the many parties in the league and the major force behind the debacle of Enron concern Andersen's, the accounting and auditing firm that once deserved name in the industry for its conscience in accounting professional services and auditing. As the case relates to, accounting audit for Enron is attended by Andersen's since long enough. However, the interesting feature is that some compromise in the profession of accounting services by Andersen's was notable, given that there are noteworthy feature of stock manipulation, especially in financial statements of Enron attended and audited by Andersen's. The statement and restatement of Enron also gives some probable indication for manipulation of accounting, where debate and counter debate in that regard from the prying eye of the media was a common feature. Thus, the involvement of Andersen's in Enron consultancy and professional auditing makes it rather more imploded for the direct involvement of Andersen's that also successively ushered the debacle and bankruptcy of Enron for the entire sheer element attached to it. Moreover, the accounting scandal involving Enron have been subject to criticism from many quarters. However, insiders who testify against the auditing firm make it the biggest party of the fall out and bankruptcy of Enron...
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...Journal Article Review Kas Internal Auditing (ACC 4012) Article: Code of Ethics for Internal Auditors Harmonized with the International Standards for Internal Audit Summary In the article titled “Code of ethics for internal auditors harmonized with the international standards for internal audit” by George Calota was published in 2008. The article was written to explain how Code of Ethics influences the roles of internal auditors when unified with the International Standards for Internal Audit. This study was carried out to allow both internal and external auditors, private and public business owners with an audit board, within their working environment to be aware of how an internal auditor is supposed to carry out their job and the polices which they should follow. The author’s main focus was on The Josephson American Ethics Institute ethical principles, Romania’s personal ethical principles and its similarities to the fundamental principles of the code of ethics and most of all, how the fundament principles of ethics and professional behaviors for internal auditors are harmonized with the international standards for auditing (Integrity, objectivity, confidentiality and competence). The author seemed to be highly qualified to tackle this particular issue. He is an experienced internal auditor, who has worked with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and also The Central unit for harmonizing the internal audit from Romania. Issues In the article, the author made mention...
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...opinion regarding the degree of correspondence between the assertions and established criteria. two primary types of audits are financial audits and compliance audits. In a financial audit, the management of a business asserts that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which are the applicable criteria. The financial statement auditor attests to the degree of correspondence between those financial statements and GAAP The objective of a financial audit is to determine whether the financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The management of an organization is responsible for preparing the financial statements. The auditor is responsible for rendering an opinion on the fairness of those financial statements based on his or her audit. When preparing the financial statements, management must follow GAAP, which are the principles and practices that govern financial re porting. Internal auditors are employees of the organization whose activities are being examined and evaluated during an independent audit. The primary purposes of internal auditing are to review and assess a company's policies, procedures, and records and to review and assess a company's performance given its plans, policies, and procedures. Therefore, internal auditors review financial records and accounting systems, assess compliance with company policies, evaluate the efficiency of company...
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...Payal Mehta ACC416 October 1, 2013 Auditing Research Paper The profession of auditing plays a very important role in our economy especially after Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act its role in the economy was greatly solidified. Auditing is the accumulation and evaluation of evidence about information to determine and report on the degree of correspondence between the information and established criteria. Auditing should be done by a competent, independent person. “The auditing profession offers a wide range of employment opportunities for new accountants. Most accounting firms offer client services in three areas: auditing, tax, and consulting. A new accountant might be hired to work in any of these areas. In the audit area, the accountant may work for a variety of clients including private or public companies, clients in banking, insurance, manufacturing, technology, retail, health care, or government. Individuals working in the audit area may also spend most of their time providing internal audit services to clients rather than working as an external auditor. Working in any of the areas in an accounting firm may be one of the most demanding jobs, but it is also one of the most interesting, exciting experiences and a great way to prepare to work in the corporate business world.” “What is Auditing?” Web. 29 September 2013 Accounting is the recording, classifying, and summarizing of economic events in a logical manner...
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