Audit Assignment: Key Assertions, Substantive Audit Procedures, and Key Audit Matters

This audit assignment discusses key assertions, substantive audit procedures, and key audit matters related to valuation and rights and obligations of inventory and intellectual property rights. It also explains the disclosure requirements for key audit matters as per ASA 701.

Audit Assignment

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By student name
Professor
University
Date: 11th Sep 2018.
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Audit assertion:
Audit Assertions are the representations made by the management about the various
items and information contained in the financial statements. These representations are about the
recognition, measurement and presentation of financial data. They are also known as
Management Assertions and Financial Statement Assertions (Alexander, 2016). Depending on
the item to which it relates to, these assertions are classified into several categories, namely,
occurrence, completeness, accuracy, completeness, existence, valuation, rights and obligation,
valuation, and classification. Primarily, the purpose of assertions is to assist the auditor in
understanding and resolving a wide range of issues. Assertions related to the balance sheet are
divided into four broad categories, namely, completeness, accuracy, valuation and rights and
obligation.
1 a) Key assertions at risk
Valuation: The Accounting standards require inventories to be recognized at an amount
which is the lower of the cost or net realizable value. It also requires that any abnormal wastage
has not been included in the valuation of the inventory. Valuation will also be complicated when
there is work in progress. Since Computing Solutions Limited, sell computer presentation
package, the chances of inventories becoming obsolete is very high. In the technology driven
industries, merchandise get obsolete and outdated within a short span of time. Therefore, their
value gets impaired each year, sometimes, each season too (Bromwich & Scapens, 2016).
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Rights & Obligation: This assertion is about the ownership and rights of the entity over
the inventory. This assertion can be at risk because Computing Solutions has a practice of
moving its inventory from the central warehouse to the regional warehouse, which is six in
number. As such, there are possibilities of instances where the goods are in transit or are held on
consignment basis. The ownership and rights in these instances have to be clearly understood
because of the involvement of outside parties like the insurance company, the transporter and the
consignee.
1 b) Substantive Audit procedures Substantive Audit procedures are procedures or steps that
the auditor performs to gather audit evidence for a matter. These steps are intended to gather
detailed and intensive information on significant matters. Usually, substantive procedures are
divided into three subheads. They are test of controls, test of details and analytical review
procedures. The nature, timing and extent of these procedures vary in accordance with the
strength and weakness of the internal controls operating in those specific area (Chron, 2017).
For valuation risk: The auditor should obtain a proper list of inventories from the
management and reconcile them with the general ledger. Proper application of lower of cost or
NRV shall be ensured, for this the auditor may take the help of market data too. The inventory
count is important audit evidence. Wherever possible, the auditor should frequently observe the
inventory count taking place, at least twice a year. Vouching and testing inventory pricing is
another method to obtain audit evidence. Special consideration should be given to the valuation
of closing stock as it is usually done at the year end and can be easily inflated or deflated as per
the needs of the management. Provisioning requirements for goods in transit or on consignment
basis shall also be reviewed (Fay & Negangard, 2017).
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For rights and obligations: The question of rights and obligation arises mainly when external
third parties are involved. Therefore, to obtain substantive audit evidence, the most desirable
thing to do would be to determine the existence of agreements and contracts, and to study those
agreements. The auditor should also read the consignment agreement and the terms of the
insurance policy. The minutes of the meetings of the Boards may also be reviewed to be
informed of any major decision in this regard.
1 c) According to ASA 701, “key audit matters are matters that require significant auditor
attention in performing the audit”. The auditor is required to describe in detail, each of the
matters, identified as a key audit matter. These matters are to be described using a separate
subheading, under a separate section of the audit report. The disclosure shall expressly state that
the key audit matters are determined as per the professional judgment of the auditor. The auditor
should also communicate that he has not given a separate opinion on these matters, but in context
of the audit report, as a whole (Grenier, 2017). The rationale behind the introduction of this
concept is to enhance the quality of the audit report and to increase transparency. Users or
readers of the financial statements have shown their interest in knowing about matters that the
auditor had the most intense discussion on with those charged with governance and the matters
where they required additional and detailed explanations from the management. This
requirement also develops and nurtures good communication between the entity and the auditor.
Management also begins to give more attention on these issues.
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Valuation of inventory may be a key audit matter depending on the complexity involved.
Provisioning and valuation of inventory requires a lot of judgments, estimates and forecasts from
the management’s end and therefore the auditor needs to obtain substantive evidence for the
same (Heminway, 2017).
The disclosure required in relation to key audit matters, as per ASA 701 are:
The auditor is bound to disclose such matter using a separate head, under a separate section. It
should be placed in proximity with the auditor’s opinion. Such information may be organized in
the order of their importance.
Reasons shall be given as to why the auditor thinks that the matter demands significant attention.
While giving reasons, the auditor shall restrict himself from using superfluous words or using
purely technical terms. This is required to facilitate understanding by those users who do not
have a high level of knowledge but are interested to understand the basis of such a decision.
The extent of management disclosure and representation, with respect to the mater under
consideration, shall also be informed (Linden & Freeman, 2017).
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Keeping in mind the specific needs and situation of the entity and the audit, if the auditor thinks
it fit that there does not exist any matter that can be considered as a key audit matter, then the
auditor shall make a statement stating such a situation. This also applies in cases where the
matter to be considered as key audit matter has already been disclosed separately as part of
compliance with ASA 701. However, it is to be kept in mind that the above-mentioned statement
is to be presented under the head ‘key audit matters’, in the audit report.
The auditor shall also disclose and explain the procedures adopted by him to gather audit
evidence. He should clearly mention the observations made in this regard and how he used those
observations to draw conclusions (Sithole, et al., 2017).
2 a) The importance of Intellectual property is a huge matter of discussion in today’s time.
According to a study, conducted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association, a
generation ago, about 80% of a typical company’s assets were tangible, in the form of buildings,
equipment, plants, vehicles and the like, whereas 20 % were intangible. With the advent of
technology, this ratio has gone topsy-turvy now, where as high as 75 percent of the entity’s
assets are held in the form of intangibles.
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Key assertions at Risk:
Valuation: as far as the valuation of intellectual property rights is concerned, the cardinal rule
of assigning a commercial value comes into effect. The valuation of the same intellectual
property or intangible asset varies from entity to entity, because its utility is perceived differently
by different entities. Calculation of the value of intangible assets is not problematic when they
have been formally protected through trademarks, patents or copyright. But in case of tangibles
such as know-how, (which can include the talents, skill and knowledge of the workforce),
technical processes, customer lists, distribution networks, etc., they become quite complex.
These assets are more difficult to be assigned a value although they are equally valuable. This is
mainly because they cannot be directly associated with earnings or the profit that they generate
(Raiborn, et al., 2016).
Rights and obligation: intellectual property rights are highly characterized by their ownership
issues. While trademarks are still less complex, copyrights and patents see a lot of legal suits
against them. In fact, in most of the entities, the lawsuits, with regard to these intellectual
property rights, form the major portion of the contingent assets or liabilities. These assets cannot
be recognized in the books till the time their legal ownership is decided by the law. Issues like
deficiencies in license rights, joint rights or ownership and infringement of property rights are
reasons that cast high risk on assertions.
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2 b) Substantive audit procedures: The first step is to gather initial information about the
nature of the asset. Some background research shall also be done to understand the legislations
applicable to this specific class of assets. To investigate the history of a product, both current and
archived files should be studied. Ownership documents are to be properly studied and
understood, so that no ambiguity lies in the mind of the auditor as to who should be the legal
owner of the property. In cases, where these assets have been developed in house, end to end
accounting of the research and development expenses shall be understood, vouched and verified
(Trieu, 2017).
Interview or face to face conversation should be done with the management and other staff, so
that any confusion or question can be cleared. Information can also be gathered by developing a
questionnaire for all the people involved in the task of developing Intellectual property, or even
for people who use it. Physical inspection of the workspaces shall also be done to identify any
possible threat of unauthorized access. Inspection of ownership documents, policy documents,
contracts with the government or with the patents issuing party shall be carried out. The value
assigned to each of these assets shall be reviewed with the industry practices. However, some
scope for deviations shall be allowed.
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2 C) As per the provisions of the ASA701, matters that require the auditor to devote
significant degree of attention while performing the audit and the audit procedures, are termed as
key audit matters. For matters identified as key audit matter, the auditor is required to give out
detailed information in his audit report. This detailed information shall be given in the form of
separate heading that would appear under a separate section. The auditor shall, in clear terms
disclose that such matters has been identified as such, only after exercising professional
judgement. They are not baseless doubts. In his communication, the auditor shall state that he is
not giving a separate opinion on those matters, but while expressing an opinion on the financial
statements, he is also required to express an opinion on the key audit matters. This opinion is
given only in the context of the financial statement under audit. This concept was introduced in
the year 2015, with a view to enhance the quality standards of auditor’s reporting and to increase
the extent of transparency in the financial report. The decision maker who read the financial
statements have displayed their concern in knowing about matters that the auditor had the most
intense conversation on with those charged with governance and the matters where they required
added and detailed clarifications from the management. This requirement also improves and
fosters good communication between the entity and the auditor. Management also initiates to
give more attention on these issues as they are aware that these will be forming part of the
financial statements, that is a public document (Werner, 2017).
Valuation of intellectual property rights may be a key audit matter based on complication
involved. Provisioning and estimation of inventory involves a lot of verdicts, approximations and
predictions from the management’s end and therefore the auditor needs to obtain substantive
proof for the same. Also, the actual existence of the intangible assets, like technical know-how,
expertise and goodwill can never be said to be complete and accurate.
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The disclosure required in relation to key audit matters, as per ASA 701 are:
The auditor is required to disclose such matter using a distinct head, under a distinct section. It
should be positioned in close vicinity with the auditor’s opinion. Such information may be
structured in the order of their significance.
Explanations shall be provided as to why the auditor considers that the identified matter demands
substantial attention. While giving reasons, the auditor shall restrict himself from using
superfluous words or using purely technical terms. This is required to facilitate understanding by
those users who do not have a high level of knowledge but are interested to understand the basis
of such a decision.
Information should also be given about the extent of management disclosure and representation
on topics that are part of key audit matters.
Depending on the circumstances of the entity and the audit, if the auditor determines that there is
no such matter that can be termed as key audit matter or that the matters to be termed as key
audit matter have already been described in some other part of the report, he shall give a
statement to this effect. Such statement shall be given under the heading key audit matters”
(Dumay & Baard, 2017).
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The auditor shall also disclose and explain the procedures adopted by him to gather audit
evidence. He should clearly mention the observations made in this regard and how he used those
observations to draw conclusions (Auditing Standard ASA 701 Communicating Key Audit
Matters in the Independent Auditor’s Report, 2015).
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References
Alexander, F., 2016. The Changing Face of Accountability. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(4), pp.
411-431.
Bromwich, M. & Scapens, R., 2016. Management Accounting Research: 25 years on. Management
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Chron, 2017. five-common-features-internal-control-system-business. [Online]
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-common-features-internal-control-system-business-
430.html
[Accessed 07 december 2017].
Dumay, J. & Baard, V., 2017. An introduction to interventionist research in accounting.. The Routledge
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Fay, R. & Negangard, E., 2017. Manual journal entry testing : Data analytics and the risk of fraud. Journal
of Accounting Education, Volume 38, pp. 37-49.
Grenier, J., 2017. Encouraging Professional Skepticism in the Industry Specialization Era. Journal of
Business Ethics, 142(2), pp. 241-256.
Heminway, J., 2017. Shareholder Wealth Maximization as a Function of Statutes, Decisional Law, and
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Linden, B. & Freeman, R., 2017. Profit and Other Values: Thick Evaluation in Decision Making. Business
Ethics Quarterly, 27(3), pp. 353-379.
Raiborn, C., Butler, J. & Martin, K., 2016. The internal audit function: A prerequisite for Good
Governance. Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, 28(2), pp. 10-21.
Sithole, S., Chandler, P., Abeysekera, I. & Paas, F., 2017. Benefits of guided self-management of attention
on learning accounting. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(2), p. 220.
Trieu, V., 2017. Getting value from Business Intelligence systems: A review and research agenda.
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Werner, M., 2017. Financial process mining - Accounting data structure dependent control flow
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