AUDIT PLANNING
The first step in audit process is planning. Every audit should be carefully planned to ensure highest technical standards make best use of audit personnel and achieve utmost efficiency. Audit plan helps to:
a. Ensure that appropriate attention is devoted to important areas of audit.
b. See that potential problems are promptly identified.
c. Ensure that work is completed on time.
d. Coordinate the work done by other auditors and experts.
e. Utilize the assistants properly.
Factors to be considered while planning the audit are:
a. Complexity of the audit.
b. Environment in which the entity operates.
c. Previous experience with the client.
d. Knowledge of client's business.
Knowledge of the client's business: It will enable the auditor to identify the events, transactions and practices, that in his judgment, may have a significant effect on the financial information. The auditor can obtain such knowledge from:
a. the client's annual report to its shareholders;
b. minutes of meetings of shareholders, Board of Directors etc;
c. internal financial management reports;
d. previous year's audit working papers;
e. discussion with client;
f. the client's policy and procedures manual;
g. consideration to the state of economy and its affect on client's business; and h. visit of the client's premises and plant facilities.
Development of an overall plan: The overall plan should cover the following:
a. Terms of audit engagement and statutory responsibilities.
b. Nature and timing of reports or other communication.
c. Relevant legal and statutory requirements.
d. Accounting policies of client and changes therein.
e. Effect of new accounting or auditing pronouncements on the audit.
f. Identification of critical audit areas.
g. Conditions requiring special attention.
h. Degree of reliance as regards accounting system and internal control.
i. Possible rotation of emphasis on specific audit areas.
j. Nature, timing and extent of audit evidence to be obtained.
k. Work of internal auditors and reliance to be placed on them.
I. Consideration to branch auditor's report.
m. Allocation of work between joint auditors and the procedures for its control and review.
n. Establishing and coordinating the staff requirements.
Developing the audit programme :
The auditor should prepare a written audit programme setting forth the procedures that are needed to be implemented while carrying out the audit plan. He may take into account the reliance to be placed on internal controls.
The auditor has some flexibility in deciding when to perform audit procedures. But, sometimes he may have no discretion as to timing, such as, observing the stock taking by the client's personnel. The audit programme should consider previous year's audit programmes and should be modified, if necessary.
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