Auditing plays a vital role in business, government and economy. The key value of auditing is its ability to provide an independent assurance on the integrity and fairness of financial information produced by companies and other entities. An auditor is under a statutory duty to report to members on the company’s financial statements for an accounting period and on the accounting records relating to those financial statements (s.308). Auditors are required to provide an auditor’s report to the members (i.e. shareholders with voting rights) of the company concerning the financial statement audit. The auditor must express an opinion on whether the financial statements are in accordance with the Corporations Act, comply with accounting standards (s.296) and give a true and fair view (s. 297).
Going concern modification of the audit report is a suitable setting to investigate in audit reporting behavior. First it matters as the auditors reports play may critical role in warning market participants of a firm’s ability to continue as a going concern (DeFond et al. 2002; Geiger et al. 20...
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is a legislation aimed at increasing the accuracy of financial statements that were issued by companies that are publicly held (Livingstone, 2011). The passing of this act was a response to some of the financial malpractices that took place at companies such as WorldCom and Enron. According to Livingstone, making ethical decisions is critical because ethical lapses can lead to severe unforeseen consequences (Livingstone, 2011). This paper will discuss the effects of the Act on the audit committees of public company boards of directors as well as outside independent audit firms. The main advantages and disadvantages of the Act and recommendations of the changes that should be made to the act will also be included.
Going concern issues in financial reporting, as discussed in Australian Auditing Standard ASA 570 , applies to all audits performed on a set of financial report in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001. A
A standard audit procedure includes the examining of the financial statements prepared in the light of relevant accounting and reporting standards and evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. On the other hand, internal control over financial reporting is a standard procedure by which assurance is provided regarding the reliable preparation of financial statements and their presentation for external purposes in accordance with financial standards. The firm conducted the audit in accordance with the rules which were in compliance with the statute. After conducting the audit, the firm was of the opinion that the company effectively maintained all
Since it is the PA firm’s responsibility to conduct audits, it is a public accountant’s objective to adhere to CAS 200 whereby their objectives are to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are not misstated, consider the possibility of fraud or error and communicate finding in accordance with the Canadian Auditing Standards. Public Accountants are only required to provide a reasonable level of assurance when auditing financial statements. The users of the financial statements may vary. They may be shareholders, creditors or management, but the only responsibility the shareholder has, is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements present fairly and in accordance to a certain criteria such as GAAP.
Audit procedures are a set of detailed instructions written to obtain sufficient audit evidences to perform the company’s audit report. Audit procedures must be carefully planned and written because it is used as the guidelines to collect audit evidences.
Kent has a misconception that auditors have no specific duties regarding fraud. Furthermore, Kent also mentions that auditor provides no assurances about fraud because that is management’s job. In fact, auditors do not have duty to detect fraud. However, it is an auditor responsibility to detect material misstatements in the financial statement. Auditors are required to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and design procedures to detect such misstatement.
Industries in the new era tend to concentrate on linking with other corporations on a geographic level, to bring in all their forces together to create a highly technical & cost effective collaboration. This collaboration also involves joining forces with the suppliers across the product development cycle for easy access & faster processing of the products. This also ensures quick access to markets, lower product cost & better quality. Attaining successful suppliers results in success of the company & enhances its overall performance. It isn’t easy for a company to recognize if the suppliers they choose are capable of supporting their new product development or hinder their growth & effect the company’s performance. Companies need
Audit is a process to evaluate and review the accounts and financial statement objectively. We can divide it into internal auditors and external auditors. Internal auditors have a inner knowledge of business process. Auditor has access to the much confidential information and all levels of management. But they may lose their judgement and they are not acceptable by the shareholder. “The overall objective of the external auditors is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to report on the financial statements in acco...
The purpose of an audit (purpose). To provide financial statement users with an opinion by the auditor on whether the statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in a manner that conforms to an applicable financial reporting framework. It’s important the audit does provide the ultimate user with financial statements needed to understand where their company is going and how it can and will succeed.
The fundamental duty of an external financial auditor is to form and express an opinion on whether the reporting entity’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework. In discharging this duty, the auditor must exercise “reasonable skill, care and caution” (Lopes, J. in Kingston Cotton Mill Co 1896) as reflected in current legal and professional requirements.
Accounting ethics has been difficult to control as accountants and auditors must keep in mind the interest of the public while that they remain employed by the company they are auditing. The accountants should take into account how to best apply accounting standards when company faces issues related financial loss. The role of accountant is crucial to society. They serve as financial reporters to owe their primary constraint to public interest. The information provided is critical in aiding managers, investors and others in making crucial economic decisions. An accountant is responsible for any fraudulent financial reporting. Some examples of fraudulent reporting are:
Auditing standards are currently seen as incredibly important to the Auditing profession and the Financial Industry as a whole. However, these standards were not always in place. Auditing was previously self-regulated and lacked guidance. Due to the many accounting scandals, stock crash, and securities market reforms that occurred, auditing was reformed, providing stronger requirements and placing more responsibility on those in charge.
The major characters of the tradition audit are all information what is needed by auditors are on the paper and the manual calculators and without high communication technology. Auditors usually were limited by the place in the paper time. When a several people are working on the same auditing project for a client with offices in cities across the country, even worldwide, it takes a lots all time those auditors get the information which they need from the client, even there is risk paper information disappear for many reasons. on the another hand, mail paper information increase the auditing cost. The mistake caused by the manual calculators inevitably, no matter how fixed auditors concentrate on recalculate is, after all auditors are human. The global business become major in the modern business world, some example, several auditors who are in different locations are working a same auditing project, or auditors are in different city even country with the client, when there is issue among these auditors or between auditors and client, they only can communicate with each other by phone or be together and have meeting. Phone call can not make sure information been watched in the same time when the voice is talking about the issue, but having a meeting takes time and money make all people together, it increases auditing cost.
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. The Stock Market crash of 1929 and various scandals made auditors realize that their roles in society were very important. Scandals and stock market crashes made auditors aware of deficiencies in auditing, and the auditing community was always quick to fix those deficiencies. The auditors’ job became more difficult as the accounting principles changed, and became easier with the use of internal controls. These controls introduced the need for testing; not an in-depth detailed audit. Auditing jobs would have to change to meet the changing business world. The invention of computers impacted the auditors’ world by making their job at times easier and at times making their job more difficult. Finally, the auditors’ job of certifying and testing companies’ financial statements is the backbone of the business world.
Audit Risk is the risk that an auditor has stated an incorrect audit opinion on the financial statements. It may cause the auditors fail to alter the opinion when the financial statements contain material misstatement. The auditor should perform the audit to lower the audit risk to a sufficiently low level. In the auditor’s professional judgement, the auditor should appropriately state a correct opinion on the financial statement