This report discusses the key audit matters in the banking industry, focusing on four major banks in Australia. It highlights the importance of proper disclosure of audit matters in the audit report to ensure the effectiveness of financial statements and protect stakeholders' interests.
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AUDITING & ASSURANCE
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Auditing Executive summary It is one of the most important responsibilities of an auditor to make a valid opinion on the financial statements and operations of the organizations in order to provide a proper report to the stakeholders of the company. The auditor needs to check the ethnicity of different areas and the management structure of the organization. In this report, various key audit matters that should be reported by the auditor is clearly discussed. The banking industry is analyzed in order to understand the key audit matters that are being used to analyze the statements of four major banks of Australia. 2
Auditing Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3 Case of Lehman Brothers Limited................................................................................................................4 Banking industry..........................................................................................................................................5 ï‚·Suncorp group.....................................................................................................................................5 ï‚·National Australian Bank.....................................................................................................................6 Commonwealth Bank of Australia...............................................................................................................7 ANZ Bank.....................................................................................................................................................8 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9 References.................................................................................................................................................10 3
Auditing Introduction Auditing standard ASA 701 consists of communicating key matters of the accounts of an organization in the independent auditor's report. In accordance with this standard, the key audit matters are the matters which are needed to be given special attention so as to highlight the important transactions in the financial statements of the organization. In order to analyze such transactions, the auditor should focus on the material misstatements that could have affected the financial value of the organization in that particular accounting period (Hoffelder, 2012). Application of the standard, the organization's auditor will be asked to mention the key audit matters in the report so as to convey all the vulnerabilities present in the financial statements of the organization to the management (Kaplan, 2011). The key audit matters play a very important role in the organization because it will help them to determine their future. The financial statements of the organization should be free from any kind of material misstatement and vulnerabilities because they are being used by the investors and other stakeholders of the company for determination of various decisions in relation to investment. Therefore the key audit matters should be properly disclosed in the audit report (Lakis &Masiulevicius, 2017). One of the most important responsibilities of auditors is to disclose all the factors of the accounts and audit report clearly. Disclosing all the matters in relation to the audit report and the required transactions should be done by the auditors of the firm (Lapsley, 2012). Key audit matters can be defined as matters which require professional judgment and also are very sensitive in nature for the profitability of the company. Each and every transaction taking place in the organization should be properly analyzed so as to find vulnerability or any other kind of fraud so that the performance of the business cannot be undermined. Key audit matters should be given more importance because they determine the effectiveness of the financial reports of the organization at the time of auditing (Livne, 2015). All the audit procedures should be conducted in accordance with the procedures so that the financial reports presented in front of the users can be effective in nature. Also, proper analysis of the financial reports will help the organization to avoid any kind of unbearable circumstances that may prevail on it in the near future (Wood, 2011). 4
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Auditing This auditing standard explains the need for an auditor to make key disclosures of financial matters in the independent auditor's report. Also, there are various features of this standard like: •Presenting the key audit matters in the independent auditor's report is mandatory for every company which is listed in any nation's stock exchange. •For other companies, the auditor determines whether to use or not the principles of key audit matters in the audit report prepared by him. •The standard states that the auditor can determine the use of key audit matters in the audit report. Also, this depends on the judgment day is on the mutual consent of auditor and management of the organization so as to review the transactions that have been made by the company. If any kind of risk or use fruits have been observed in the organization should use the principle of key audit matters while constituting the audit report. •The standard also helps to define the documentation that is required by the auditor in order to analyze the key audit matters. •If a situation arises where the auditor is not able to state the key audit matters in front of the organization then he is liable to give a proper justification for the same. All the circumstances that are justifiable are mentioned in this standard (Mock et. al, 2013). Case of Lehman Brothers Limited The organizations Lehman brothers Limited was observed to conceal various material facts that were to be presented as key audit matters in the audit report. This wouldn't have happened if the organization worked in accordance with the ASA 701. Hiding the financial facts led the stakeholders and other investors of the organization to suffer from use losses and also to the downfall of the organization. Some of the facts that led to the downfall of the organization because of the nondisclosure in auditor’s report were: •A considerable decrease was observed in the leverage ratio of Lehman brothers Limited in the year 2008 in accordance with the past years. The decrease in the leverage ratio was observed because of the loans that were borrowed by the organization for making investments in the 5
Auditing mortgage market. The securities of the organization worked at stake because of which the company was made vulnerable to losses (Sharp, 2010). The transactions were not disclosed in the audit report because of which the investors and other stakeholders were unable to make proper decisions. If the presence of ASA 701 would have been there, all these matters would have been stated in the audit report and further would have saved Lehman brothers Limited from the collapse. •The organization constantly made repo 105 and other report transactions because of which the statements were a field with errors. This was clearly noticed by the auditor but was not being reported in the statements (Moroney & Trotman, 2016). •The organization was to buy back the securities. This fact was also not stated in the financial statements. Minimum rates of derivatives were being shown as the buyback amount. Therefore a very unusual picture was depicted by the organization in its financial statement because of which the investors were affected. Hiding all such financial transactions from the audit report led the organization to collapse gradually. If the organization would have implemented the use of ASA 701, proper disclosure of all the key audit matters would have been there and hence proper risk management strategies may have helped to stop the downfall of the Lehman Brothers Limited (Moroney & Trotman, 2016). Banking industry In order to make an analysis of the key audit matters that should be present in the auditor's report, an example of the banking industry have been taken. All the necessary key audit matters which should be present in the financial statement of the organization are being discussed in accordance with the banking industry. 4 banks of Australia have been chosen for the analysis, which are: Suncorp group Goodwill 6
Auditing It is very important for an organization to detect clear impairment values of goodwill so as to forecast the discounted rates, cash flows and other assumptions that can affect the business of the organization in near future. The total interest or income earned by the organization depends on the terminal growth rate assumptions. Various audit processes were conducted by the organization in order to understand the transactions that were taking place in order to conduct the business. Analysis was also conducted in order to determine the results that were initiated by the organization. The organization should also hire an analyst in order to determine the future cash flows, growth assumptions and discounted rates in the most appropriate way. The specialist should be hired in order to analyze the external data and economic growth projections so that proper comparison can be made in relation to the discounts provided to the organization. Life insurance contract liabilities and gross policy liabilities under insurance The Organization was trying to improve the life insurance policies so as to elevate the production of the organization. Various arrangements and insurance facilities are being estimated in order to determine the new contract liabilities. The strategic activities and reviews are conducted in order to determine the conditions of the Australian market which can further help to reduce the cost and improve the lives of business. Historical cost experiences and observable market data of the business clearly assumed the actuarial accounting standards requirement. National Australian Bank Some of the most important key audit matters for the National Australian Bank are: One of the most important functions of banks is to lend money and give safety and security facilities to their customers. This organization is said to follow the accounting standard of AASB 9 which involves judgment assessment of various provisions and their amounts. The organization provides various types of loan facilities to the customers on the basis of the risks and returns. Proper investigations are made before providing loans so that every parameter can be checked for categorization of lost provisioning. This function also helps the organization to determine the impairment charges that are to be charged on the loans. Proper identification of risks and another 7
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Auditing strategy should be made by the auditor in order to create provisions which will be useful for the organization in the future. The bank also has various types of contingent liabilities that are to be assessed in accordance with the law of Australia. The management structure of the organization should identify any kind of risk that may arise for the organization in the future. Hence, it is necessary for the order to determine the key audit matters and suggest new methods that can help them to remove the vulnerabilities from the system. If the management structure of the organization is not able to fulfill the needs of the business then it may face negative downfalls that can reduce the money and reputation earned by the organization. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Following audit matters were reported by the auditor: It is very important for the organizations to create provisions for impairment of loans because it will not only help them to make subjective judgments on the basis of time but also will help them to create the proper amount of provisioning which is one of the most important audit matters. All the loans should be assessed individually so as to determine the adequacy of their classification and amounts in accordance with the business (Commonwealth Bank, 2018). This matter involves adequate risk and hence time to time report should be presented to the organization with respect to this. The organizations also conduct the valuation of financial instruments regularly. It is very important to measure the derivative value of the assets and liabilities present in the organization in accordance to their fair values. The total derivative value of the organization consisted of 17% of Total Assets and 5% of total liabilities. Generally, the evaluation process is conducted on the basis of the total price is determined by the market or fair value rate. The remaining evaluation is done according to the auditing standards of Australia. Valuation of liquid assets and other intangible assets should also be made in order to know the actual value of the firm. Hence, it can be stated that this requires a fair amount of judgment (Commonwealth Bank, 2018). 8
Auditing The contingent nature of liabilities should also be assessed properly because these are matters of great importance. Hence, they should be considered as key audit matters because they can buy the company's profit if not timely provisioned. ANZ Bank Credit impairment provision It is very important for the financial organizations to clearly evaluate the accounting standards while preparation of the financial reports of the firm. If proper use of accounting standard is made while developing the financial reports then it will be free from any kind of material misstatement or frauds. Following proper accounting standards also helps the organization to disclose all the material information properly because of which the stakeholders and investors are being able to take a decision in relation to investment easily. The method used by the organization in order to measure values of different assets and liabilities should also be mentioned clearly in the audit report as a key audit matter (ANZ Bank, 2018). The auditor is also provided the task of completely evaluating the financial statements of the organization and makes it free from any kind of vulnerability so that their credit rating can be increased. Proper loan assessment should be made in order to identify the microeconomic factors that can affect the business of the firm (ANZ Bank, 2018). Different type of test control system should be used by the organization to fulfill all the regulatory requirements of the company. Valuation of financial instruments held at fair value It was observed that the value of financial instruments that were measured by the organization was based on their fair value. Hence it should be clearly mentioned in the audit report that you ordered matter because it will play a very important role in order to affect the business of the organization and the products that are being sold by it. Accuracy of the data that is being evaluated by the organization should also be assessed by proper processing systems so that any kind of an inconsistency in the system can be analyzed. 9
Auditing Conclusion After the analysis of the banking industry of Australia, it can be observed that organizations are prone to various kinds of risks and threats that needed to be properly analyzed and treated because they can lead to the organizations collapse. All the vulnerabilities present in the organization's financial statements could be clearly analyzed and presented as key audit matters in the audit report. the downfall of the organization Lehman brothers Limited clearly stated that there was a considerable difference present between the regulations that were to be followed and regulation that was being actually implemented. The downfall of the organization clearly states that there was a problem existing in the supervision and auditing standard used for assessment of the financial statement. Therefore, it will be necessary for the auditors to work according to the auditing standards that have been accepted internationally in order to prepare the reports ethically. 10
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Auditing and Theory.32,323-351. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2308/ajpt-50294[Accessed 19 May 2019] Moroney, R. and Trotman, K.T. (2016) Differences in Auditors' Materiality Assessments When Auditing Financial Statements and Sustainability Reports.Contemporary Accounting Research,33(2), pp.551-575. Available from:https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12162 [Accessed 18 May 2019] NAB., 2018.NAB Annual report & accounts. Available at <https://capital.nab.com.au/docs/2018_NAB_Annual_Financial_Report.pdf> [Accessed 19 March 2019] Suncorp Bank .(2018)Suncorp BankAnnual report & accounts. Available from: https://www.suncorpgroup.com.au/investors/reports[Accessed 19 May 2019] Wood, D A. (2011)The Effect of Using the Internal Audit Function as a Management Training Ground on the External Auditor's Reliance Decision.The Accounting Review. 86(6), p. 39-56. Available from:https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-10136[Accessed 19 May 2019] 12