Audit Process and Documentation – CS Professional Study Material

Chapter 14 Audit Process and Documentation – Secretarial Audit Compliance Management and Due Diligence ICSI Study Material is designed strictly as per the latest syllabus and exam pattern.

Audit Process and Documentation – Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence Study Material

Question 1.
Distinguish between Audit Plan and Audit Programme. (June 2022, 3 marks)

Question 2.
State the general guidelines for preparing audit working papers. (Dec 2013, 5 marks)
Answer:
1. Clarity and Understanding: As a preparer of audit documentation, step back and read your work of objectively. Would it be clear to another auditor? Working papers should be clear and understandable without supplementary oral explanations. With the information the working papers reveal, a reviewer should be able to readily determine their purpose, the nature and scope of the work done and the preparer’s conclusions.

2. Completeness and Accuracy: As a reviewer of documentation, if you have to ask the audit staff basic questions about the audit, the documentation probably does not really serve the purpose. Work papers should be complete, accurate and support observations, testing, conclusions, and recommendations. They should also show the nature and scope of the work performed.

3. Pertinence: Limit the information in working papers to matters that are important and necessary to support the objectives and scope established for the assignment.

4. Logical Arrangement: File the working papers in a logical order.

5. Legibility and Neatness: Be neat in your work. Working papers should be legible and as neat as practical. Sloppy work papers may lose their worth as evidence. Crowding and writing between lines should be avoided by anticipating space needs and arranging the work papers before writing.

6. Safety: Keep your work papers safe and retrievable.

7. Initial and Date: Put your initials and date on every working paper.

8. Summary of Conclusions: Summarize the results of work performed and identify the overall significance of any weakness or exceptions found.

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Question 3.
Explain the significance of audit working papers. (Dec 2013, 4 marks)
Answer:
The audit working papers constitute the link between the auditor’s report and the client’s records. According to SA -230, Audit Documentation refers to the record of audit procedures performed, relevant audit evidence obtained, and conclusions the auditor reached (terms such as “working papers” or “work papers” are also sometimes used). The objects of an auditor’s working papers are to record and demonstrate the audit work from one year to another.

Audit documentation serves a number of purposes:

  • Assisting the engagement team to plan and perform the audit.
  • Assisting members of the engagement team responsible for supervision to direct and supervise the audit work, and to discharge their review responsibilities in accordance with SA 220.
  • Enabling the engagement team to be accountable for its work.
  • Retaining a record of matters of continuing significance to future audits.
  • Enabling the conduct of quality control reviews and inspections in accordance with SQC 1.
  • Enabling the conduct of external inspections in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory of other requirements.

Question 4.
Prepare a sample audit programme for auditing the receipt of fees from the students of a government college. (June 2014, 5 marks)
Answer:

  1. A sample audit programme for auditing of the receipt of fees from the students of a government college is given below:
  2. Names checking: Check names entered in the Students’ Fee Register for each month or term, with the respective class registers, showing names of students on rolls and test amount of fees charged; and verify that there operates system of internal check which ensures that demands against the students are properly raised.
  3. Fees checking: Check fees received by comparing counterfoils of receipts granted with entries in the cash book and tracing the collections in the Fee Register to confirm that the revenue from this source has been duly accounted for.
  4. Maintained fees register Total up the various columns of the Fees Register for each month or term to ascertain that fees paid in advance have been carried forward and the arrears that are irrecoverable have been written off under the sanction of an appropriate authority.
  5. Admission fees checking: Check admission fees with admission slips signed by the head of the institution and confirm that the amount had been credited to a Capital Fund, unless the Managing Committee has taken a decision to the contrary.
  6. Free studentship and concessions: See that free studentship and concessions have been granted by a person authorised to do so, having regard to the prescribed-Rules.
  7. Fines/Penalty: Confirm that fines for late payment or absence, etc., have either been collected or remitted under proper authority.
  8. Dues and Caution money: Confirm that hostel dues were recovered before students’ accounts were closed and their deposits of caution money refunded.
  9. Liability appearance in balance sheet: Confirm that caution money and other deposits paid by students on admission have been shown as liability in the balance sheet and not, transferred to revenue.
  10. Check online procedure: If admission process is going through online, then check the all application received.
  11. BRS: To check Bank reconciliation statement with receipts.
  12. All receipt: Check the Bank receipts, credit card receipt and reconciliation plan to be made.
  13. E-mail: Check the all e-mail correspondence regarding the receipts of fee.
  14. Reminder: Check the reminder system SMS alert, e-mails, call log book, to proper collection of fee.
  15. Fee policy: Check fee policy for different category of students.
  16. Authenticity: Check the authentication of system and software used by the concern in this regard.

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Question 5.
Answer the questions:
What do you understand by audit programme? , (Dec 2014, 2 marks)
Answer:
An audit programme is a written plan containing exact details with regard to the conduct of a particular audit. It is a description or memorandum Of the work to be done during an audit. Audit Programme serves as a guide in arranging and distributing the audit work as well as checking against the possibility of omissions.

Question 6.
What is Audit Programme? State its advantages. (June 2016, 8 marks)
Answer:
Audit Programme:

  • An audit programme is a detailed plan of the auditing work to be performed, specifying the procedures to be followed in verification of each item and the financial statements and the estimated time required.
  • To be more comprehensive, an audit programme is written plan containing exact details with regard to the conduct of a particular audit.
  • It is a description or memorandum of the work to be done during an audit. Audit programme serves as a guide in arranging and distributing the audit work as well as checking against the possibility of the omissions.
  • As per SA 300, the auditor should prepare a written audit programme setting forth the procedures that are needed to be implemented while carrying out the audit plan.
  • He may take into account the reliance to be placed on internal controls.
  • The auditor has some flexibility in deciding when to perform audit procedures.
  • But, sometimes he may have no discretion as to timing, such as, observing the stock taking by the client’s personnel.
  • The audit programme should consider previous year’s audit programmes and these may be modified, if necessary.

An Audit Programme may be classified into two categories:
(i) Programme common to all types of audit. For example, checking of books of accounts; and
(ii) Special programme containing the work relating to a particular audit. For example, the audit programme for a partnership firm would be different from that of a company.

Advantages of Audit Programme:
The main advantages of an audit programme are as follows:

  1. It serves as a ready check list of audit procedures to be performed.
  2. The audit work can be properly allocated to the audit assistants or the article clerks.
  3. The auditor may easily know the extent of work done at any point of
    time. Thus, the progress of work done can be under the supervision and control of the auditor. ,
  4. Audit programme would not only be useful for the audit assistants in carrying the audit work but for the principal too as he would be in a position to account for the individual responsibilities.
  5. A uniformity of the work can be attained as the same programme would be followed from time to time.
  6. It is a useful basis for planning the programme for the following year.
  7. It may be used as evidence by the auditor in the event when any charge is brought against him.
    He can prove that there has no negligence on his part and he exercised reasonable care and skill while performing the task.

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Question 7.
Answer the questions:
(a) What are the contents of a typical Audit Note Book?
(b) Comment on the following in relation to SA- 230:
“Audit documentation serves a number of additional purposes.” (Dec 2016, 2 marks each)
Answer:
(a) The Contents of a typical audit note book may be enumerated as below:

  • Name of the business enterprise.
  • Organization structure.
  • Important provisions of Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  • Communication with the previous auditor, if any.
  • Management representations and instructions.
  • List of books of accounts maintained by the enterprise.
  • Accounting methods, internal control systems followed by the enterprise, applicable laws etc.
  • Key management personnel.
  • Errors and fraud discovered.
  • Matters requiring explanations or clarifications.
  • Special points that need attention in the audit report and for subsequent audits.

(b) Audit Documentation:
According to SA 230 on “Audit Documentation”, audit documents once collected serve a number of additional purposes. These purposes are as follows:

  • Enabling the conduct of quality control reviews and inspections.
  • Enabling the conduct of external inspections in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, or other requirements.
  • Enabling the engagement team to be accountable for its work.
  • Retaining a record of matters of continuing significance to future audits.
  • Assisting the engagement team to plan and perform the audit.
  • Assisting members of the engagement team responsible for supervision to direct and supervise the audit work and to discharge their review responsibilities in accordance with SA 220 “Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statement.”

Question 8.
Explain the need of audit working papers. (June 2017, 5 marks)
Answer:
The need for Working papers listed as follows:

  • Planning and Performance: They aid in the planning and performance of the audit.
  • Supervision and review: They aid in the supervision and review of the audit work and to review the quality of work performed, in accordance with SA- 20 “Quality Control for Audit Work”.
  • Evidence of audit work: They provide evidence of the audit work performed to support the auditor’s opinion.
  • Clear and logical: They document clearly and logically the schedule, results of test, etc.
  • Technical standard: The working papers should evidence compliance with technical standards.
  • Study and evaluate: They document that Internal control has been appropriately studied and evaluated.
  • Reasonable basis: They document that the evidence obtained and procedures performed afford a reasonable basis for an opinion.
  • Continues significance: They retain a record of matters of continuing significance to future audits of the entity.
  • Quality control review: They enable an experienced auditor to conduct quality control reviews in accordance with Statement on Peer Review issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
  • Quality: The process of preparing sufficient audit documentation contributes to the quality of an audit.
  • Need as per AAS – 27: They fulfil the need to document oral discussions of significant matters and communicate to those charged with governance, as discussed in AAS-27, Communication of Audit Matters with those Charged with Governance.

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Question 9.
“Working papers should be prepared using the appropriate cross referencing.” Justify. (Dec 2020, 3 marks)
Answer:
Working papers should be prepared using the appropriate cross referencing. A cross reference from the Audit Procedures to the primary working paper provides a reference to where the work was performed. It is not necessary to cross refer all work papers to the Audit Procedures – only the primary work paper should be cross referred. The primary work paper will then contain cross-references to other, supporting working papers, which provide additional information regarding the audit procedures performed, results, and conclusions reached.

Cross-references should be used to refer information useful in more than one place or to other relevant information including the source of information, composition of summary totals, or other documents or examples of transactions. To encourage conciseness, documents/information only single copy of the working papers should be placed in working file for cross referencing.

Question 10.
‘The audit process can be broadly grouped in three phases’. Prepare a note to substantiate the statement. (June 2022, 5 marks)

Question 11.
SJ has started working in a practicing company secretary firm as a trainee. Explain to him about Current Audit File and its contents. (June 2022, 5 marks)

Question 12.
Write a short note on Execution of Audit
Answer:
The effective Audit Execution is based on the Audit plan and the efficiency of the Audit team. However the Execution of the audit covers the following actions:

  • Sampling of various transactions or items
  • Sampling for testing of controls
  • Identification of events
  • Performing controls testing procedures
  • Performing analytical procedures
  • Sampling for substantive test of details

Question 13.
Write a short note on Board Composition
Answer:
The Auditor should go through the following points while conducting the audit:
1. Board of directors:

  • composition and category of directors (e.g. promoter, executive, nonexecutive, independent non-executive, nominee director-institution represented and whether as lender or as equity investor);
  • attendance of each director at the meeting of the board of directors and the last annual general meeting;
  • number of other board of directors or committees in which a directors is a member or chairperson;
  • number of meetings of the board of directors held and dates on which held;
  • disclosure of relationships between directors interse;
  • number of shares and convertible instruments held by non-executive directors;
  • web link where details of familiarization programme imparted to independent directors is disclosed

2. Audit committee:

  • brief description of terms of reference;
  • composition, name of members and chairperson;
  • meetings and attendance during the year.

3. Nomination and Remuneration Committee:

  • brief description of terms of reference;
  • composition, name of members and chairperson;
  • meeting and attendance during the year;
  • performance evaluation criteria for independent directors

4. Stakeholder Relationship Committee:

  • brief description of terms of reference;
  • composition, name of members and chairperson;
  • meeting and attendance during the year.

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Question 14.
What is the difference between Audit Plan and Audit Programme?
Answer:

Audit Plan Audit Programme
Audit Plan lays down the audit strategies to be followed for conducting an audit such as identifying the areas where special audit consideration and skills may be necessary, obtain the knowledge of business etc. Audit programme is an outline of how the audit is to be done, who is to do what work and within what time
Plans should be made to cover the following among other things:

  • Acquiring knowledge of accounting systems, policies and internal control procedures
  • Establishing the expected degree of reliance to be paced on the internal control
  • Determining the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures to be performed
  • Co-ordinating the work to be done
It lays down the following audit procedure to be followed:

  • Evaluation process
  • Ascertaining accuracy
  • Verification of Document
  • Scrutiny of supporting Documents
  • Checking of overall disclosure and presentation of all items in the audit completion.
  • Preparation and submission of audit report.

Question 15.
The main purposes for an interview in context of an audit are orientation, examination and confirmation. Comment
Answer:
The main purposes for ah interview in context of an audit are orientation, examination and confirmation. An interview can have one or two of these purposes, but normally not all three at the same time.
Orientation: Orientation is normally part of the audit team’s learning process during the planning phase. It aims at exploring and giving an overview of a specific area or function, e.g., by asking for presentations of activities, explanations of formal or informal networks or interpretation of documents (reports, instructions or, budgets). The objective could be to identify possible audit subjects or to find out about other available sources of information, such as key persons or documentation.

Examination: Examination aims at more specifieHssues with a view to establishing new information, often to be used as audit evidence. In some “cases, such information has not been previously recorded at all but is embodied in the interviewee through personal experiences, particular references, opinions, etc. In other cases, the knowledge can be retrieved for example by (joint) interpretation of internal documents, reports or records. It should be noted that evidence obtained from interviews often needs to be corroborated, i.e. supported by evidence from other data collection methods.

Confirmation: Confirmation, finally, often goes together with either orientation or examination, but deserves to be mentioned as a separate purpose because of its fundamental importance. Confirmation, by definition, is typically based on information that has already been gathered. However, in this context the information can also be gathered and confirmed simultaneously. Not least in the planning phase, it is important to have basic conditions and facts explicitly confirmed by stakeholders. However, in the execution phase there might also be a need to confirm facts and findings. If data is incorrectly Understood, the quality of the whole audit may suffer and a lot of work may be in vain.

The interview techniques can be gainfully used in a structured or unstructured manner to elicit information from the entity both in the planning as well as execution phase. The Auditor can use the interview mode to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information.

The aim in the planning phase is to develop a comprehensive and correct understanding of the audited activity or the auditee’s business in order to facilitate the identification of significant audit issues, there is therefore a need to get orientation as well as confirmation. An interview can very well be justified by a combination of these purposes. Orientation requires a more unstructured approach, with the auditor having maximum flexibility where necessary to explore themes that have not previously been considered and to deeply probe the responses that are given. In this phase, the auditor generally does not have a prior hypotheses or deep knowledge of the project or activity. Confirmation, on the other hand, needs a fairly structured approach in order to have important facts and conditions verified. Space to write important points for revision

Audit Process and Documentation - CS Professional Study Material

Audit Process and Documentation Notes

Audit Planning
For an effective audit, a timely, well thought out and well executed planning efforts is essential. The Auditor should obtain and update his understanding of the company, its activities, operation’s and control environment in the company. The Audit Planning consists of the following actions:

  1. Understanding the company .
  2. Establishing Audit objectives and scope
  3. Determining Materiality
  4. Assessment of Risk
  5. Preparation of Audit plan
  6. Preparation of detailed Audit programme

Audit Programme:
An Audit Programme is a set of instructions which are to be followed for proper execution of audit. After the development of audit plan a detailed written audit programme containing the various steps and procedures shall be required. The Audit Programme contains the measures that are generally employed to determine what, and how much evidence must be collected and evaluated. It also lays down the responsibilities for the whole audit team for carrying out different tasks.

Audit Trail:
Audit Trail is a repository of administrative and operational documentation relating to audit process. It is established and maintained to aid in audit planning and to centralize available documentation and information not included in the individual audit files. Information included in the permanent files should only be information that cannot be feasibly included in the working papers due to volume or format or because the information will be applicable on an on going basis to the current audit or future audits. Permanent files should be filed with all audit and follow-up working papers supporting the audit. The contents of permanent files are dependent on the needs of the audit An index should be developed and placed in the front of the permanent file indicating the documents contained, date included in file and auditor’s initials.

Questionnaire:
Questionnaire is the most widely used from for collecting information about the existence, operation and efficiency of internal control in an organisation.

Board Processes:
The Board of Directors as an institution plays a prominent role in corporate governance. It is responsible for directing and overseeing the business and management of the company. Given this pivotal role of the board, directors are considered as fiduciaries in that they are required to act in the interest of various constituencies in a company such as shareholders and other stakeholders. Accordingly, the law foists on the directors duties and liabilities as instruments that modulate their conduct.

Directors are, however, entitled to various protective measures in the form of mitigating factors either conferred upon them by law or through practical mechanisms they may establish. The Section 118(10) mandates on every company to observe the Secretarial Standards on the meeting of the Board of Directors (SS-1) as specified by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
The SS-1 helps in providing clarity in certain areas where the la,w is either silent or ambiguous. Wherever the law is silent, certain good governance practices have been recommended and where it is ambiguous, the standards try to bring in more clarity and adhere the common board processes across country.

To ensure the effective board processes the auditor should also observe the requirement of the secretarial standards during the Audit along with the disclosure, eligibility, level of expertise, involvement of the directors in decision making etc.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *