(ii) Explain the organisational factors that determine the need for internal audit in public listed companies.
(5 marks)
第1题:
3 Susan Paullaos was recently appointed as a non-executive member of the internal audit committee of Gluck and
Goodman, a public listed company producing complex engineering products. Barney Chester, the executive finance
director who chairs the committee, has always viewed the purpose of internal audit as primarily financial in nature
and as long as financial controls are seen to be fully in place, he is less concerned with other aspects of internal
control. When Susan asked about operational controls in the production facility Barney said that these were not the
concern of the internal audit committee. This, he said, was because as long as the accounting systems and financial
controls were fully functional, all other systems may be assumed to be working correctly.
Susan, however, was concerned with the operational and quality controls in the production facility. She spoke to
production director Aaron Hardanger, and asked if he would be prepared to produce regular reports for the internal
audit committee on levels of specification compliance and other control issues. Mr Hardanger said that the internal
audit committee had always trusted him because his reputation as a manager was very good. He said that he had
never been asked to provide compliance evidence to the internal audit committee and saw no reason as to why he
should start doing so now.
At board level, the non-executive chairman, George Allejandra, said that he only instituted the internal audit committee
in the first place in order to be seen to be in compliance with the stock market’s requirement that Gluck and Goodman
should have one. He believed that internal audit committees didn’t add materially to the company. They were, he
believed, one of those ‘outrageous demands’ that regulatory authorities made without considering the consequences
in smaller companies nor the individual needs of different companies. He also complained about the need to have an
internal auditor. He said that Gluck and Goodman used to have a full time internal auditor but when he left a year
ago, he wasn’t replaced. The audit committee didn’t feel it needed an internal auditor because Barney Chester believed
that only financial control information was important and he could get that information from his management
accountant.
Susan asked Mr Allejandra if he recognised that the company was exposing itself to increased market risks by failing
to have an effective audit committee. Mr Allejandra said he didn’t know what a market risk was.
Required:
(a) Internal control and audit are considered to be important parts of sound corporate governance.
(i) Describe FIVE general objectives of internal control. (5 marks)
第2题:
(c) Define ‘market risk’ for Mr Allejandra and explain why Gluck and Goodman’s market risk exposure is
increased by failing to have an effective audit committee. (5 marks)
第3题:
(b) Discuss FOUR factors that distinguish service from manufacturing organisations and explain how each of
these factors relates to the services provided by the Dental Health Partnership. (5 marks)
第4题:
(ii) the factors that should be considered in the design of a reward scheme for BGL; (7 marks)
第5题:
(c) Explain the extent to which you should plan to place reliance on analytical procedures as audit evidence.
(6 marks)
第6题:
(ii) Briefly explain the implications of Parr & Co’s audit opinion for your audit opinion on the consolidated
financial statements of Cleeves Co for the year ended 30 September 2006. (3 marks)
第7题:
(iii) Can internal audit services be undertaken for an audit client? (4 marks)
Required:
For each of the three questions, explain the threats to objectivity that may arise and the safeguards that
should be available to manage them to an acceptable level.
NOTE: The mark allocation is shown against each of the three questions above.
(iii) Internal audit services
A self-review threat may be created when a firm, or network firm, provides internal audit services to a financial statement
audit client. Internal audit services may comprise:
■ an extension of the firm’s audit service beyond requirements of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs);
■ assistance in the performance of a client’s internal audit activities; or
■ outsourcing of the activities.
The nature of the service must be considered in evaluating any threats to independence. (For this purpose, internal audit
services do not include operational internal audit services unrelated to the internal accounting controls, financial systems
or financial statements.)
Services involving an extension of the procedures required to conduct a financial statement audit in accordance with
ISAs would not be considered to impair independence with respect to the audit client provided that the firm’s or network
firm’s personnel do not act or appear to act in a capacity equivalent to a member of audit client management.
When the firm, or a network firm, provides an audit client with assistance in the performance of internal audit activities
or undertakes the outsourcing, any self-review threat created may be reduced to an acceptable level by a clear separation
of:
■ the management and control of the internal audit by client management;
■ the internal audit activities.
Performing a significant portion of an audit client’s internal audit activities may create a self-review threat. Appropriate
safeguards should include the audit client’s acknowledgement of its responsibilities for establishing, maintaining and
monitoring the system of internal controls.
Other safeguards include:
■ the audit client designating a competent employee, preferably within senior management, to be responsible for
internal audit activities;
■ the audit client, audit committee or supervisory body approving the scope, risk and frequency of internal audit
work;
■ the audit client being responsible for evaluating and determining which recommendations of the firm should be
implemented;
■ the audit client evaluating the adequacy of the internal audit procedures performed and the resultant findings by
obtaining and acting on reports from the firm; and
■ appropriate reporting of findings and recommendations resulting from the internal audit activities to the audit
committee or supervisory body.
Consideration should also be given to whether such non-assurance services should be provided only by personnel not
involved in the financial statement audit engagement and with different reporting lines within the firm.
第8题:
(b) Explain the principal audit procedures to be performed during the final audit in respect of the estimated
warranty provision in the balance sheet of Island Co as at 30 November 2007. (5 marks)
第9题:
(c) Describe the audit procedures you should perform. to determine the validity of the amortisation rate of five
years being applied to development costs in relation to Plummet. (5 marks)
第10题:
(ii) State the principal audit procedures to be performed on the consolidation schedule of the Rosie Group.
(4 marks)
第11题:
(ii) From the information provided above, recommend the matters which should be included as ‘findings
from the audit’ in your report to those charged with governance, and explain the reason for their
inclusion. (7 marks)
第12题:
Following a competitive tender, your audit firm Cal & Co has just gained a new audit client Tirrol Co. You are the manager in charge of planning the audit work. Tirrol Co’s year end is 30 June 2009 with a scheduled date to complete the audit of 15 August 2009. The date now is 3 June 2009.
Tirrol Co provides repair services to motor vehicles from 25 different locations. All inventory, sales and purchasing systems are computerised, with each location maintaining its own computer system. The software in each location is
the same because the programs were written specifically for Tirrol Co by a reputable software house. Data from each location is amalgamated on a monthly basis at Tirrol Co’s head office to produce management and financial accounts.
You are currently planning your audit approach for Tirrol Co. One option being considered is to re-write Cal & Co’s audit software to interrogate the computerised inventory systems in each location of Tirrol Co (except for head office)
as part of inventory valuation testing. However, you have also been informed that any computer testing will have to be on a live basis and you are aware that July is a major holiday period for your audit firm.
Required:
(a) (i) Explain the benefits of using audit software in the audit of Tirrol Co; (4 marks)
(ii) Explain the problems that may be encountered in the audit of Tirrol Co and for each problem, explain
how that problem could be overcome. (10 marks)
(b) Following a discussion with the management at Tirrol Co you now understand that the internal audit department are prepared to assist with the statutory audit. Specifically, the chief internal auditor is prepared to provide you with documentation on the computerised inventory systems at Tirrol Co. The documentation provides details of the software and shows diagrammatically how transactions are processed through the inventory system. This documentation can be used to significantly decrease the time needed to understand the computer systems and enable audit software to be written for this year’s audit.
Required:
Explain how you will evaluate the computer systems documentation produced by the internal audit
department in order to place reliance on it during your audit. (6 marks)
第13题:
(b) Criticise the internal control and internal audit arrangements at Gluck and Goodman as described in the case
scenario. (10 marks)
第14题:
(ii) Explain the ethical tensions between these roles that Anne is now experiencing. (4 marks)
第15题:
(b) Explain the major benefits of pursuing a policy of internal development. (4 marks)
第16题:
(b) Identify and explain the financial statement risks to be taken into account in planning the final audit.
(12 marks)
第17题:
(c) Explain the possible impact of RBG outsourcing its internal audit services on the audit of the financial
statements by Grey & Co. (4 marks)
第18题:
(ii) If a partner, who is an actuary, provides valuation services to an audit client, can we continue with the audit?
(3 marks)
Required:
For each of the three questions, explain the threats to objectivity that may arise and the safeguards that
should be available to manage them to an acceptable level.
NOTE: The mark allocation is shown against each of the three questions above.
第19题:
(b) Explain the need for a first time group auditor to analyse the group structure. (5 marks)
第20题:
(b) (i) Explain the matters you should consider to determine whether capitalised development costs are
appropriately recognised; and (5 marks)
第21题:
(ii) Identify and explain the principal audit procedures to be performed on the valuation of the investment
properties. (6 marks)
第22题:
(ii) Recommend further audit procedures that should be carried out. (4 marks)
第23题:
(a) List and explain FOUR methods of selecting a sample of items to test from a population in accordance with ISA 530 (Redrafted) Audit Sampling and Other Means of Testing. (4 marks)
(b) List and explain FOUR assertions from ISA 500 Audit Evidence that relate to the recording of classes of
transactions. (4 marks)
(c) In terms of audit reports, explain the term ‘modified’. (2 marks)