A specified audit-testing package
Illustrative assignment — not a completed ZEHN client engagement.
An audit firm commissions documentation of specified tests over selected purchasing transactions. The firm determines the audit objective, population, selection and procedures. ZEHN prepares the workpapers from the information and instructions provided.
- Work completed.
- The package identifies the selected items and records each instructed procedure, its result and the preparer. Any procedure left incomplete because information is missing is marked as such.
- Evidence references.
- Entries refer to the relevant invoices, receiving records and other information examined. The reviewer can trace each recorded result to its support and assess whether the evidence is sufficient.
- Checking recorded.
- For this illustration, the allocated checker would compare the documented work with the instructions, inspect references and raise inconsistencies for correction. The package would identify the checks performed and any outstanding points for the firm’s reviewer.
- Issues brought forward.
- One selected transaction lacks the receiving record required by the instructed procedure. The workpaper records the missing information and the steps completed. It does not treat the item as an exception-free result or assume the goods were received.
- Matters for the firm.
- The audit team decides whether further evidence or procedures are required, assesses the implications and reaches the audit conclusion. The missing document is brought forward for that assessment rather than treated as a settled audit conclusion.
- Response to review.
- ZEHN addresses questions about the preparation and corrects its work where needed. If the firm instructs further testing or extends coverage, the additional work and timing are agreed. The package returns to the firm with revisions and remaining issues identifiable.
