Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia By Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett Copyright © McGraw-Hill 2006 Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett 1-1 Part One The Auditing and Assurance Services Profession Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett 1-2 Chapter Assurance and Auditing: An Overview Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett 1-3 Introduction: An overview of the current auditing environment • 2001-2003 Developments: – Resultant crisis of confidence in financial system: Numerous corporate collapses (Enron, HIH, One.Tel etc) Collapse of major auditing firm (Arthur Andersen) Auditor value questioned during this period Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-4 An overview of the current auditing environment • 2004-2006 Developments: – – – The auditing profession has gone from strength to strength Society’s need for a strong, independent auditing profession has been recognised There have been many legislative and professional developments aimed at ensuring (or even increasing) the auditor’s professional competence and independence Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-5 Overview of the current auditing environment (Cont.) - some overall developments • • • • • A framework for all assurance services, not just financial statement audit Greater independence in the standard-setting process Legislation aimed at improving professional competence and independence Revised auditing standards for financial statement audits Corporate governance and ethics - initiatives All these issues and others will be covered in this course Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-6 Learning Objective 1: The Assurance Framework • Many parties provide reports to users as an aid in making decisions • Reports can potentially be biased due to the vested interests of the report providers • Users may demand that the credibility of the report be enhanced by having an independent expert examine the report • Financial statements are just one type (the most common type) of report that can be assured Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-7 The objective of assurance engagement • Assurance engagement: ‘An engagement in which a practitioner expresses a conclusion designed to enhance the degree of confidence of the intended users other than the responsible party about the outcome of the evaluation or measurement of a subject matter against criteria’ • International Framework / AUS 108 para.7 Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-8 The objective of assurance engagement Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-9 Five elements of assurance engagement • Three-party relationships – – – Practitioner (auditor) Responsible party (preparer) Intended user • Subject matter • Suitable criteria • Sufficient appropriate evidence • Written assurance report Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-10 Agency theory Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-27 Learning Objective 7: History of the Audit Function • Audits have been performed since at least the thirteenth century • Until the early 1900s, audits focused on the company’s solvency and the detection of fraud and error • Audits from early 1900s to 1940s: added objectives of verification of financial report accuracy and attestation to financial report credibility • Since the 1940s: the overall objective of auditing has been the expression of an opinion as to whether the financial report is materially misstated Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-28 Audit approaches since the 1940s • These have evolved over time: – – Balance-sheet approach — this involved the auditor auditing the assets and liabilities with little emphasis on profit and loss account items Transactions cycle approach — this emphasised the review of controls which operated within each transaction cycle and provided for limited testing of balance sheet items Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-29 More recent audit approaches • Financial risk analysis approach — the auditor considers relative financial risk and materiality in planning the audit, such that audit work is concentrated in areas where there is a higher risk of misstatement • Business risk approach (current audit approach) — as well as financial risk, the auditor considers business strategy, associated business risks, and management’s plans to respond to changes in the business environment Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-30 Learning Objective 8: The Auditor-Client-Public Relationship • The auditor’s primary reporting responsibility is to resource providers of the client entity, however the client entity usually engages the auditor and pays the auditor’s fees • The auditor also discusses the audit findings with management prior to releasing information to the resource providers • In order to combat pressures on independence and objectivity, the auditing profession has issued a series of ethical rulings and professional standards to guide the auditor in the conduct of his/her duties Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-31 Learning Objective 9: The Expectation Gap This is defined as: ‘the gap between society’s expectations of auditors and auditors’ performance as perceived by society.’ • There are three components of this expectation gap: • – – – The reasonableness gap between what society expects auditors to achieve and what they can reasonably be expected to accomplish; The performance gap arising from deficient standards; and The performance gap arising from deficient performance by auditors Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-32 The gap between audit expectation and audit performance Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-33 Four major issues in the expectation gap • The nature and meaning of audit report messages; • Early warning by auditors of corporate failure; • Auditor’s responsibility for the detection and reporting of earnings management and fraud; and the • Auditor’s ability to communicate different levels of assurance Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-34 Learning Objective 10: The Role of Auditing Standards • • • • • Auditing standards (AUSs/ASAs) in Australia are developed by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) Prescribe the basic principles and essential procedures which govern the conduct of an auditor For audits conducted under the Corporations Act 2001 the auditing standards must be applied, therefore giving them legal authority Are applicable to all other audits, adapted as necessary (APS 1.1/APES 410) Failure to observe these standards may expose a member to investigation and disciplinary action from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-35 Force of Law Auditing Standards (1 July 2006) Force of law auditing standards apply to audits and reviews of financial reports prepared in accordance with the Corporations Law and commencing on or after July 2006: • For audits, the Australian Auditing Standards are now designated as ASA’s, and have the same numbering as the equivalent ISA’s (there are thirty four ASA’s), • There are still 10 AUS’s which predominantly relate to frameworks (e.g AUS’s 106, 108, 110) or assurance engagements on other than financial reports prepared in accordance with the Corporations Act (e.g AUS’s 804, 806, 808, 810, 904) Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-36 Force of Law Auditing Standards: ASA’s ASAs consist of paragraphs that are either mandatory requirements, identified in bold-type (black lettering); or explanatory guidance, identified in normal-type (grey lettering) • There has been little change in the detail of the auditing standards in the conversion of AUS’s to ASA’s The AUASB carefully reviewed the standards in order to identify any “implied imperatives” (black letter requirements hidden in the grey lettering) • The term “shall” (for example, the auditor shall…) is used to indicate mandatory requirements in ASA’s, instead of the term “should” which is used to indicate such requirements in AUS’s Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-37 AGSs and AAAs • Auditing Guidance Standards – provide guidance on procedural matters or industry specific issues, but not establish new principles or amend existing standards • Audit and Assurance Alerts – bring matters of significant and immediate concern to auditor’s attention Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-38 Learning Objective 11: Audits Under the Corporations Act 2001 • Management is responsible for the preparation and presentation of appropriate accounts Accounts are to be accompanied by a report of an independent auditor appointed by the shareholders • The Corporations Act 2001 (ss 292-306) indicates that directors must prepare a financial report (income statement, balance sheet, statement of changes in equity cash flow statement, directors’ declaration and other related notes and reports) together with any other information or explanation necessary to give a true and fair view Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-39 Auditors’ responsibilities under the Corporations Act 2001 • Auditors are responsible for reporting to company members on the directors’ financial report that was presented at the AGM They say whether the financial report: – – is in accordance with the law, including compliance with accounting standards (s 296) provides a true and fair view (s 297) Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-40 Learning Objective 12: Other Applications of the Assurance Function • • • • • • Evidence-gathering methods of auditing are also employable in the audit of activities other than financial reports Compliance audit — examination for the purpose of reporting on legality and control of operations Performance audit — analyses organisation structure, internal systems, work flow, and managerial performance: efficiency, effectiveness and economy of these items Comprehensive audit — usually includes components of compliance, performance and financial report audits Internal audit — audits performed by employees of the entity as a part of the entity’s risk management process Forensic audit — associated many times with fraud detection Copyright 2006 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd Revised PPTs t/a Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia 3e by Grant Gay and Roger Simnett Slides prepared by Roger Simnett 1-41 ... same numbering as the equivalent ISA? ??s (there are thirty four ASA’s), • There are still 10 AUS’s which predominantly relate to frameworks (e.g AUS’s 10 6, 10 8, 11 0) or assurance engagements on... Corporations Act 20 01 the auditing standards must be applied, therefore giving them legal authority Are applicable to all other audits, adapted as necessary (APS 1. 1/APES 410 ) Failure to observe... prepared by Roger Simnett 1- 12 Force of Law Auditing Standards (1 July 2006) The force of law auditing standards apply to all audits and reviews of Corporations Act 20 01 financial reports that