Audit working papers are the documents which record during the course of
audit evidence Audit evidence is evidence obtained by auditors during a financial audit and recorded in the audit working papers.
Audit evidence is required by auditors to determine if a company has correct information considering their financial statements. If ...
obtained during
financial statements
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...
auditing
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
, internal management auditing, information systems auditing, and investigations. Audit working papers are used to support the audit work done in order to provide the assurance that the audit was performed in accordance with the relevant auditing standards. They show the audit was:
*Properly planned;
*Carried out properly
*There was adequate supervision;
*That the appropriate review was undertaken; and
*That the evidence is sufficient and appropriate to support the audit opinion
The Institute of Internal Auditors, a global professional audit standards body, has issued practice advisory 2330-1 stating the goals of audit working papers are to:
*Document the planning, performance, and review of audit work;
*Provide the principal support for audit communication such as observations, conclusions, and the final report;
*Facilitate third-party reviews and re-performance requirements; and
*Provide a basis for evaluating the internal audit activity's quality control program.
The audit working paper are divided into two parts: The first group consists of the current file and second group contains the permanent file.
# The material relating to the current year only is placed in current file
# The data to be used for a number of years placed in permanent file. The auditor can rely on the facts and figures recorded in permanent files.
Audit working papers are the
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
of the
auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...
. In order to keep
professional ethic
Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals.
The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order. By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular applic ...
, it cannot reveal to third parties without client consent unless limited specified situations mentioned in
ISA 230 Documentation ISA 230 Audit Documentation is one of the International Standards on Auditing. It serves to direct the documentation of audit working papers in order to assist the audit planning and performance; the supervision and review of the audit work; and ...
and required by
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, the examples are
court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out o ...
, for
public interest
The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society.
Overview
Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...
and so on.
The forms of documentation may be
flowchart
A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task.
The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of va ...
,
manual
Manual may refer to:
Instructions
* User guide
* Owner's manual
* Instruction manual (gaming)
* Online help
Other uses
* Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ
* Manual (band)
* Manual transmission
* Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...
,
narrative note
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). N ...
,
checklist
A checklist is a type of job aid used in repetitive tasks to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is the " to d ...
, or
questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, ...
.
Proper features or purpose
Features of Audit documentation are defined by related audit standards ie. IFRS, USGAAP.
Following features might be considered as minimum:
* Reviewed by auditors with supervisors noted.
* Signed, dated and approved by relevant level of audit staff with sufficient cross reference.
* With evidence of effective audit planning, work done, sufficient and quality evidence.
* Outstanding matters are cleared in due course.
References
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Auditing terms