Summary of Au 330 Confirmation Process

According to an article in the CPA Journal, the accounting profession has long contended that an audit conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) provides reasonable assurance that there are no material misstatements contained within financial statements. Suggest at least two (2) alternative methods that auditors can use to provide a more concrete level of assurance to investors. Provide support for your responses with examples of such methods in use.

The auditor must review disclosures for adequacy, and if the auditor concludes that information disclosures are not reasonably adequate, the auditor must state so in the auditor’s

17) The risk that the auditor will NOT detect a material misstatement that exists in an assertion is

Section 404 of the act requires that the auditor attest to and issue a report on management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting. To express an opinion on internal controls, the auditor obtains an understanding of and performs tests of controls related to all significant account balances, classes of transactions, and disclosures and related assertions in the financial statements (Arens, 2010).

An important decision for any shareholder is deciding whether or not to do business with that company. When a business is audited, the operations are reviewed to make sure that nothing is being hidden. An auditor will review the company’s financial statement and practices to confirm that each are direct and correct. The financial statements are the business’s way of representing them and showing that they are following the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The audit process is an important one because it provides a platform for the auditor’s opinion concerning the financial statements of the company. As part of the audit process the auditor will conduct an audit plan that outlines a number of actions that he or she will be perform while also detailing the reason for those actions. With every audit, the business’s management is in charge of handing over the financial statements that the auditor will review; while the auditor will review the statements for any material or immaterial misstatements.

The Substantive Tests of Details in this case found the same issues as the subsequent receipt verification, some of the balances did not meet the mark. It seems the overall audit was conducted adequately with one exception, the incomplete balance information. That is the definition of Qualified Report and the reason I did not choose the other reports, all the facts concerning financial transactions and statements were properly and accurately recorded and statements prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); or so I thought. My decision to issue the Qualified Report yielded a negative response; I should have opted for the Disclaimer Report. Even though it seemed the rest of the audit went well, I should have looked at the true definition of Quality Report.

The purpose of this memo is to address the topics of inherent risk, control risk, and detection risk. We will do this by addressing an accounting policy stated in the company’s 10-K report. We will discuss risks associated with the accounting policy, recognize company controls, and test those controls. Substantive analytics and tests of details will follow. Lastly, we will discuss fraud and extended procedures to detect fraud. To end, we will conclude by outlining the main points and emphasizing our audit plan.

This was designed to show accuracy of financial data and confidence because of adequate controls that safeguarded the financial data. End of year financial reports were also required to contain an assessment of the effectiveness of the internal controls. The issuer's auditing firm is required to attest to that assessment, after reviewing controls, policies, and procedures during a Section 404 audit, conducted along with a traditional financial audit (Thomas & Klutz, n.d.).

A review and an audit report are both a form of an attestation engagement. A Review, however, is less in scope so it provides a moderate level of assurance on the financial statements. It is considered a “sniff” of an audit, which comparatively provides reasonable assurance that no material misstatements occurred. Since a review deals with a limited scope, it does not provide the basis for expressing an opinion on the presentation of the

SAS 67 (AU 330) describes two types of confirmations. A positive confirmation asks the respondent to provide an answer in all circumstances, while a negative confirmation asks for a response only if the information is incorrect. As you might predict, negative confirmations are not as competent as positive confirmations. Note that SAS 67 requires confirmation of a sample of accounts receivable due to the materiality of receivables for most companies.

e. “The auditor considers the level of assurance, if any, he wants from substantive testing for a particular audit objective and decides, among other things, which procedure, or combination of procedures, can provide that level of assurance. For some assertions, analytical

As auditors, they have the responsibility of not only requesting a confirmation, but they should also follow up on necessary procedures to make sure that this process is accurately completed. Their duty is to be able to have control over this process from beginning to end in order to be able to rely on the evidence requested.

The presence of an external auditor allows creditors, investors or bankers to use financial statements that have been prepared with confidence. Although it does not guarantee the accuracy of a financial statement, it provides users with some reassurance that a company’s financial statements give a true and fair view of its financial position and its business operations. It also provides credibility, where in business, is a major asset. With credibility, the willingness of investors, bankers and others to relate and undertake business projects with a company increases. Credibility is also important to build positive reputations.

An important function of the accounting field is to provide external users of financial statements with assurance that the financial information being presented is both reliable and accurate. This basic function of accounting is so important that there is an entire field of experts, called auditors, dedicated to assuring its proper performance. Throughout history there have been many instances in which the basic equilibrium between an institution and current/potential investor has been threatened due to a lack of accountability and trust between the two parties. This issue has been the catalyst for many discussions regarding the proper procedures a firm should follow in order to provide

As a new auditor for the CPA firm of Croix, Marais, and Kale, you have been assigned to review the internal controls over mail cash receipts of Manhattan Company. Your review reviews the following: checks are promptly endorsed “For Deposits Only”, but no list of the checks is prepared by the person opening the mail. The mail is opened either by the cashier or by the employee who maintains the accounts receivable records. Mail receipts are deposited in the bank weekly by the cashier.