Audit Documentation and Working Papers Nature and Objectives

You work as assistant manager in one of the leading firm of chartered accountants. Your partner has asked you to prepare a presentation for some of the newly recruited staff. As part of this presentation, you are required to explain the nature and objectives of maintaining Audit Documentation.

Nature and objectives of maintaining Audit Documentation

Nature: Audit documentation should provide:

  • Evidence of the auditor’s basis for a conclusion about the achievement of the overall objective of the auditor; and
  • Evidence that the audit was planned and performed in accordance with ISAs and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

 

Audit documentation serves a number of additional purposes, which include: 

  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • Enabling the conduct of external inspections in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory or other requirements.
Audit Working Papers

Audit Working Papers nature, Objective and context

Audit Working Papers Their Form, context and Nature

The preparation of working papers is an integral part of the auditor’s responsibilities. Identify the factors that the auditor should consider while determining the form, content and extent of audit working papers

The auditor should consider the following factors while determining the form, content and extent of audit working papers.   

  • The nature of the audit procedures to be performed;
  • The identified risks of material misstatement;
  • The extent of judgment required in performing the work and evaluating the results;
  • The significance of the audit evidence obtained;
  • The nature and extent of exceptions identified;
  • The need to document a conclusion or the basis for a conclusion not readily determinable from the documentation of the work performed or audit evidence obtained; and
  • The audit methodology and tools used.  

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