INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF AUDIT AND

Test Bank for Auditing A Practical Approach, 4th Canadian Edition, 4e Moroney, Campbell, Hamilton, Warren (All Chapters Download link at the end of this file) 1 / 4

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF AUDIT AND

ASSURANCE

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define an assurance engagement.

An assurance engagement involves an assurance provider arriving at an opinion about some information being provided by their client to a third party. A financial statement audit is one type of assurance engagement. This engagement involves an auditor arriving at an opinion about the fair presentation of the financial statements. The audit report is addressed to the shareholders of the company being audited, but other users may read the financial statements. Learning about auditing and assurance requires an understanding of auditing and assurance terminology, including terms such as audit risk, materiality, internal controls, listed entity, and assertions.

• Explain why there is a demand for audit and assurance services.

Financial statement users include investors (shareholders), suppliers, customers, lenders, employees, governments, and the general public. These groups of users demand audited financial statements because of their remoteness from the entity, accounting complexity, their incentives competing with those of the entity’s managers, and their need for reliable information on which to base decisions. The theories used to describe the demand for audit and assurance services are agency theory, the information hypothesis, and the insurance hypothesis.

• Differentiate between types of assurance services.

Assurance services include financial statement audits, compliance audits, performance audits, comprehensive audits, internal audits, and assurance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures.

• Explain the different levels of assurance.

The different levels of assurance include reasonable assurance, which is the highest level of assurance, limited assurance, and no assurance. Reasonable assurance is provided on an audit of a company’s financial statements. Limited assurance is provided in a review of a company’s financial statements. No assurance is provided in a compilation engagement.

• Outline different audit opinions

An auditor can issue an unmodified opinion, also known as a clean report, or an unmodified opinion with an emphasis of matter paragraph. Alternatively, a modified opinion may be issued as a qualified, an adverse, or a disclaimer of opinion.

• Differentiate between the roles of the preparer and the auditor, and discuss the

different firms that provide assurance services.It is the responsibility of a company’s governing body to ensure that its financial statements are relevant, reliable, comparable, understandable, and true and fair. It is the responsibility of the auditor to form an opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements. In doing, 2 / 4

Auditing: A Practical Approach, Fourth Canadian Edition

• - 2

so the auditor must maintain professional scepticism and utilize professional judgement and due care.

The firms that provide assurance services include the Big-4 international firms, the national firms (with international links), local and regional firms, and consulting firms that tend to specialize in assurance of CSR and environmental disclosures.

• Identify the different regulators, legislation, and regulations surrounding the

assurance process.Regulators of the assurance process include the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB), Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the various provincial securities commissions, and the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB). Relevant legislation includes the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). CPA Canada is the professional accounting body in Canada, responsible for the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.

• Describe the audit expectation gap.

The audit expectation gap occurs when there is a difference between the expectations of assurance providers and financial statement or other users. The gap occurs when user beliefs do not align with what an auditor has actually done.

• / 4

Introduction and Overview of Audit and Assurance

• - 3

TRUE-FALSE STATEMENTS

• Only current investors (not potential investors) are considered to be users of the financial

statements.

Answer: False

Bloomcode: Knowledge

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Explain why there is a demand for audit and assurance services.

Section Reference: 1.2 Demand for audit and assurance services

CPA Competency: Audit and Assurance

AACSB: Analytic

• Insurance hypothesis is a means whereby the investor can guarantee the success of their

investment.

Answer: False

Bloomcode: Comprehension

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Explain why there is a demand for audit and assurance services.

Section Reference: 1.2 Demand for audit and assurance services

CPA Competency: Audit and Assurance

AACSB: Analytic

• A compliance audit involves gathering evidence to ascertain whether the person or entity

under review has followed the rules, policies, procedures, laws, and regulations with which they must conform.

Answer: True

Bloomcode: Comprehension

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Differentiate between types of assurance services.

Section Reference: 1.3 Different assurance services

CPA Competency: Audit and Assurance

AACSB: Analytic

• An operational audit is an example of a compliance audit.

Answer: False

Bloomcode: Knowledge

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Differentiate between types of assurance services.

Section Reference: 1.3 Different assurance services

CPA Competency: Audit and Assurance

AACSB: Analytic

• / 4