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Lesson 02
Fundamentals of Auditing Auditing – An Introduction
What is an auditor’s report? The primary aim of an audit is to enable the auditor to say “these accounts show a true and fair view” or, of course, to say that “they do not show a true and fair view”. At the end of his audit, when he has examined the entity, its record, and its financial statements, the auditor produces a report addressed to the owners/stake holders in which he expresses his opinion of the truth and fairness, and sometimes other aspects, of the financial statements.
Standard format of Auditor’s Report as per the Companies Ordinance 1984:
FORM 35A
AUDITORS’ REPORT
We have audited the annexed balance sheet of COMPANY NAME as at THE DATE and the related profit and loss account, cash flow statement and statement of changed in equity together with the notes forming part thereof, for the year then ended and we state that we have obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit.
It is the responsibility of the company’s management to establish and maintain a system of internal control and prepare and present the above said statements in conformity with the approved accounting standards and the requirements of the Companies Ordinance, 1984. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the auditing standards as applicable in Pakistan. These standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the above said statements are free of any material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the above said statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting policies and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the above said statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion and, after due verification, we report that:
a) In our opinion, proper books of accounts have been kept by the company as required by the Companies Ordinance, 1984 b) In our opinion: i. The balance sheet and profit and loss account together with the notes thereon have been drawn-up in conformity with the Companies Ordinance, 1984, and are in agreement with the books of account and are further in accordance with accounting policies consistently applied ii. The expenditure incurred during the year was for the purpose of the company’s business; and iii. The business conducted investments made and the expenditure incurred during the year were in accordance with the objects of the company. c) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow statement and statement of changes in equity together with the notes forming part thereof conform with approved accounting standards as applicable in Pakistan and, give the information required by the Companies Ordinance, 1984, in the manner so required and respectively give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs as at DATE and of the profit/loss its cash flows and changes in equity for the year then ended; and d) In our opinion Zakat deductible at source under the Zakat and Usher Ordinance, 1980 was deducted by the company and deposited in the Central Zakat Fund established under Section 7 of that Ordinance.
Date Signature Place (Name(s) of Auditors)
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Standard format of Auditor’s Report as per the International Auditing Standards:
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
[Appropriate Addressee] Introductory Paragraph We have audited the accompanying financial statements of ABC Company, which comprise the balance sheet as at December 31, 20X1, and the income statement, statement of changes in equity and cash flow statement for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes.
Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
Auditor’s Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Opinion In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view of (or” present fairly, in all material respects,”) the financial position of ABC Company as of December 31, 20X1, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements [Form and content of this section of the auditor’s report will vary depending on the nature of the auditor’s other reporting responsibilities.] [Auditor’s signature]
[Date of the auditor’s report]
[Auditor’s address]
What stands for auditor’s opinion? The auditor, in his report, does not say that the financial statements do show a true and fair view. He can only say that in his opinion the financial statements show a true and fair view. The reader or user of financial statements will know from his knowledge of the auditor whether or not to rely on the auditor’s opinion. If the auditor is known to be independent, honest, and competent, then his opinion will be relied upon.
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there are prescribed policies, contractual agreements, and legal requirements that may call for compliance auditing. Results of compliance audits are typically reported to someone within the entity being audited rather than to a broad spectrum of users. Management, as opposed to outside users, is the primary group concerned with the extent of compliance with certain prescribed procedures and regulations. Hence, a significant portion of work of this type is done by auditors employed by the entity itself. There are exceptions; when an organization wants to determine whether individuals or entities that are obligated to follow its requirements are actually complying, the auditor is employed by the entity issuing the requirements. An example is the auditing of taxpayers for compliance with the federal tax laws, where the auditor is employed by the government to audit the taxpayers’ tax returns.
Following table summarizes the three types of audits and includes an example of each type and an illustration of three of the key parts of the definition of auditing applied to each type of audit.
Examples of the Three Types of Audits
TYPES OF
AUDIT
EXAMPLE QUANTIFIABLE
INFORMATION
ESTABLISHED
CRITERIA
AVAILABLE
EVIDENCE
Financial Statement Audit
Annual Audit of General Motors’ financial statements
General Motors financial statements
International Financial Reporting Standards
Documents, records, and outside sources of evidence Operational Audit
Evaluate whether the computerized payroll processing for subsidiary is operating efficiently and effectively
Number of payroll records processed in a month, costs of the department, and number of errors made
Company standards for efficiency and effectiveness in payroll department
Error reports, payroll records, and payroll processing costs
Compliance Audit
Determine if bank requirements for loan continuation have been met
Company records Loan agreement provisions
Financial statements and calculations by the auditor
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