Best Practices ACL Step-by-Step Instructions For Journal Entry Testing

Release 3 April 2010
Best Practices
ACL Step-by-Step Instructions for Journal Entry Testing

The Step-by-Step procedures noted in this guide create results that may warrant further investigation. Performing
further drill down procedures (e.g. sorting by dollar amount; filtering on account number; stratifying by date;
classifying on user; etc.) based on specific areas of audit interest and judgment may be needed to identify journal
entries exhibiting characteristics of interest to be selected for detail testing.
Typical audit documentation includes the detail of the journal entries chosen for selection, results of profiling and
other analysis, and a description of the procedures performed prompting the item to be included as a selection.
The Audit Program for Journal Entry Testing and Documentation of Journal Entry Testing assist with planning and
documenting the journal entry testing procedures performed.
The Manual, Risk of Management Override of Controls, G535.01 – .07 contains updated guidance on testing of
journal entries to address the risk of management override of controls.
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This document provides step-by-step instructions for the following sections:
I. Preliminary Steps ................................................................................................................................................. 4

II. Reconciliation ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
A. Balancing Check ................................................................................................................................... 5
B. Reconciliation ........................................................................................................................................ 7
C. Segregation of Standard and Non-Standard Entries ............................................................................ 9
D. Exclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 11
III. Population Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 13
A. Population Statistics Overview ............................................................................................................ 13
IV. Identification of Potential Indicators of Deficiencies in Internal Control ......................................................... 16
A. Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts ............................................................................................ 16
B. User Authorization Control Indicators ................................................................................................. 18
C. Journal Entry Detail Lines With Invalid Chart Of Account Information ............................................... 19
D. Duplicate Detail Lines ......................................................................................................................... 21
E. Detail Lines With An Effective Date Outside The Test Period ............................................................ 23
F. Detail Lines With An Invalid Post Date ............................................................................................... 24
G. Search For Related Party Transactions In The General Ledger ........................................................ 25
V. Journal Entry Analysis Tests .............................................................................................................................. 25
1. Entries made to unrelated, unusual, or seldom used account .................................................................. 27
A. Seldom Used Accounts ....................................................................................................................... 27
B. Large Journal Entry Detail Lines by Account ...................................................................................... 28
C. Entries with Key Words of Audit Interest in Descriptions .................................................................... 31
D. Entries with Credits to Revenue .......................................................................................................... 33
E. Entries with Credits to Expense .......................................................................................................... 35
2. Entries made by Individuals who Typically Do Not Make Journal Entries ................................................. 37
A. User Entries With Few Journal Lines .................................................................................................. 37
B. Entries Made on Unusual Days .......................................................................................................... 38
C. Days With Posting Frequency Outside Expected Range ................................................................... 39
3. Entries Recorded at the End of the Period or as Post-closing Entries that have Little or No Explanation or
Description ................................................................................................................................................. 41
A. Entries Posted Near the End of the Period Under Review or as Post-closing Entries that Have Little
or No Explanation or Description ........................................................................................................ 41
B. Detailed Lines with Blank Journal Entry Descriptions......................................................................... 42
C. Differences Between Post and Effective Dates .................................................................................. 43
4. Entries Made Either Before or During the Preparation of the Financial Statements that Do Not Have
Account Numbers ...................................................................................................................................... 44
A. Entries Made to Accounts without an Account Number ...................................................................... 44
5. Entries Containing Round Numbers or Consistent Ending Numbers ........................................................ 45
A. Specific Dollar Amounts ...................................................................................................................... 45
B. Frequently Used Dollar Amounts ........................................................................................................ 46
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C. Benford’s Law ..................................................................................................................................... 48

D. Entries With Recurring Ending Digits, Including Round Dollar Amounts ............................................ 49
6. Accounting Estimates ................................................................................................................................ 50
A. Management Estimates ...................................................................................................................... 50
VI. Selecting Journal Entries for Detailed Testing ................................................................................................... 52
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I. Preliminary Steps
Certain preliminary steps need to be performed prior to the commencement of actual journal entry testing.
These steps include:
1. Obtaining entity data – available guidelines and work aids:
a. Data File Request Templates - Used to request entity data to enable profiling and sample selection
from the population of journal entries and other adjustments. The Data File Request Letter comes in
four versions:
i. JD Edwards
ii. SAP
iii. Oracle Financials
iv. Sys Unknown.
2. Formatting and preparing data for ACL-based testing - available guidelines and work aids:
a. Excel to ACL Demo – Demonstration of steps involved in cleansing and preparing an Excel file to be
read into ACL
b. ACL User Interface Demo – Demonstration of steps involved in reconciling entity provided journal entry
data to the engagement trial balance using ACL. It also describes the different project files included in
an ACL project. It demonstrates suggestions to improve the table view, the filtering feature, how to use
the log file, and how to edit and add fields to a table.
If you need assistance with any of these preliminary steps, consult an Exploratory Data Analysis Specialist.
II. Reconciliation
In order to determine whether the download of journal entries obtained represented the complete population,
reconciled the summary of journal entries provided by the entity to the relevant trial balance under audit by G/L
account. Be prepared for situations where data doesn't reconcile. When it appears that the data provided by
the entity does not reconcile to control totals, the entity needs to provide new downloads or be asked to
reconcile between the downloaded journal entries and the trial balance, and the audit team needs to perform
procedures to test the accuracy of the entity’s reconciliation.
ACL step-by-step instructions are provided for the following:
· Balancing check (confirming total debits and credits of the journal entry download file nets to zero)
· Reconciliation of journal entries to the relevant trial balance under audit by G/L account
· Segregating the journal entry detail file into two files: standard (automated) entries and non-standard
(manual) entries
· Excluding certain groups of journal entries from further analysis based on our understanding of the
entity’s financial reporting process and our judgment regarding the risk of material misstatement due to
fraud (note: rationale and additional work supporting such exclusions are documented in our working
papers)
Differences identified from the above tests are investigated and our disposition noted in the working papers.
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ACL step-by-step testing section: RECONCILIATION
A. Balancing Check
Audit Procedures Balancing Check
Audit Procedure Confirm that all debits and credits in the entire journal entry file net to zero.
Description Confirm that all individual journal entries net to zero.
Test Description Journal entry detail lines are components of a greater single journal entry. All
detail lines of a journal entry, when summarized, should have debits equal to
credits. This test identifies entries where this is not the case.
Step by Step Data needs: The required field to test for journal entries that do net to zero is an
Instructions using amount field containing the net of debit and credit lines in the journal entry. If one
ACL does not exist, it will need to be created.
How to create the net “AMOUNT” field:
A quick way is to click on the “Add Columns” icon which looks like a Yellow
Square with a green “+”:

· Click on [Expr…], and under “Expression”, type DEBIT-CREDIT
· To the right, under “Save As”, type AMOUNT and click [OK]
· If you look to the far right of your view, you’ll see the new “Amount”
column
Note; If you need to make changes to the “Amount” field after it has been created:
· Click Edit / Table Layout
· Double-click your AMOUNT field and make the edits
· Click the Green checkmark to save the changes
· The “X” in the upper right of the Edit / Table Layout window will get you
back to your view
How to perform the tests using ACL:
1. To determine that the entire Journal Entry file nets to zero
· Click Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· Click to select your AMOUNT field
· Click [OK]
· The output of the Statistics Command will display the total positive, total
negatives and net “Total”. The total should equal zero
2. For individual entries that don’t net to zero (i.e. balance)
· Click on Analyze / Summarize
· On the “Main” tab, select the journal entry number field under
[Summarize on]
· Select the journal entry description field under [Other Fields],and select
the netted AMOUNT field under [Subtotal Fields]
· Go to the “Output” tab, put JE_TOTALS next to [Name] and click [OK]
· Create a new Table in ACL called JE_TOTALS which will contain one
row per unique Journal Entry Number in your original file. Amount will
contain the total for each unique journal entry number; which should be
zero.
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· Set a filter: Amount <> 0 to prepare a listing of Journal Entries that do

not net to 0
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B. Reconciliation
Audit Procedures Reconciliation
Audit Procedure Reconcile Journal Entry Data to the financial statements on which our audit
Description procedures are being performed.
Test Description Reconcile the journal entry data file received to the financial statements (e.g., trial
balance) on which our audit procedures are being performed to assess the
completeness of the journal entry data file used for journal entry testing.
Step by Step Data needs: The journal entry detail file must have, among other fields, account
Instructions using number, account description, beginning balance, and debit & credit or an amount
ACL which is the net of debit & credit. Without beginning balance, you’ll only be able to
reconcile activity (i.e., the net change) to balance sheet accounts, but not to
ending balances. You will be able to reconcile P&L accounts as they begin with a
zero balance.
1. “Collapse” or “Summarize” a Journal Entry Detail file so it can be manually
compared to an entity’s Trial Balance:
· On the “Main” tab, select the Account number field under [Summarize on]
· Select the account description, and beginning balance fields under [Other
Fields], and select the debit and credit fields, or the net amount field
under [Subtotal Fields]
· Go to the “Output” tab and put ACCT_SUMMARY_TB next to [Name] and
click [OK]
· You’ve now created a new Table in ACL called ACCT_SUMMARY_TB
which has one row per unique account number that was found in your
original journal entry file. This is essentially a Trial Balance. A new field
called “Count” contains the number of entry lines hitting each particular
account. The new Table, ACCT_SUMMARY_TB, is in sorted order and is
almost ready to be compared to a client’s trial balance. You have account
number, account description, count, total debits and credits, or total net
amount. Now you must create an ending balance field.
2. A quick way to create ending balances is to:
· Click on the “Add Columns” icon which looks like a Yellow Square with a
green “+”: (Assumption: beginning balance is called BEGBAL)
· Click on [Expr…], and under “Expression”, type BEGBAL+DEBIT-
CREDIT
· To the right, under “Save As”, type ENDBAL and click [OK]
· If you look to the far right of your view, you’ll see the new “ENDBAL”
column
Note; If you need to make changes:
· Click Edit / Table Layout
· Double-click your ENDBAL field and make the edits
· Click the Green checkmark to save the changes
· The “X” in the upper right of the Edit / Table Layout window will get you
back to your view
The above example assumed separate columns for debit and credit. If you had a
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netted amount, the calculation would be BEGBAL+AMOUNT. If credits are in a

separate column, but shown as negative numbers, the calculation would be
BEGBAL+DEBIT+CREDIT.
With ENDBAL in clear view, you can easily tie your summarized file to the entity’s
trial balance on which are audit procedures are being performed.
If the trial balance is very long with a very large chart of accounts, it can be joined
with the aforementioned summarized journal entry file. Then, a filter can be set to
see if any of the ending balances per the entity’s trial balance do not agree with
our calculated ending balance (ENDBAL). Contact an Exploratory Data Analysis
Specialist for further details on the Join Command.
If your population does not reconcile, a possible reason could be the activity
evident within Suspense Accounts, which are often not included in the Trial
Balance. Please refer to the Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts in the
Controls section below.
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C. Segregation of Standard and Non-Standard Entries
Audit Procedures Segregation of Standard and Non-Standard Entries
Audit Procedure Identify standard and non-standard journal entries.

Description
Test Description Journal entry files, once reconciled to the trial balance are segregated between
standard (e.g., automated) and non-standard (e.g., manual) journal entries, if
possible. It is suggested that the testing procedures depicted in this guide be
performed separately for standard and non-standard entries.
Step by Step Example 1:

Instructions using ACL
The Data Request includes an indicator of some kind to differentiate the Manual,
non standard entries, from those which are more routine and done automatically
(most likely from sub-ledgers). Assuming your file has a field called
ENTRY_TYPE, and the value “NS” indicates a non standard entry:
· Set a filter for the Non Standard Indicator
· ENTRY_TYPE=”NS” and click the green checkmark
· Create a new table which will only have Non Standard transactions:
· Click Data / Extract data
· Select “record”
· Next to “To:” enter the name of a new table which will contain non-
standard journal entries. For example, name the table NS_ENTRIES
· Repeat this process for Standard transactions
Note, when using a filter for an exact match in a character based field (i.e. Field
= “XX”), ACL is case sensitive and Field=”xx” will generate no results if the
contents of the field are uppercase.
If your file does not have an indicator which identifies standard vs. non-standard
journal entries, then further analysis steps are completed on the original file as a
single file.
Example 2:
Data Need: In this example, the journal entry detail file must have a source
code (SYSTEM) or an indicator as to whether an entry is automated or
standard, vs. non- standard.
Example:
Assuming the journal entry data file has a field called SOURCE and automated
journal entries have sources, “Payroll”, “AR”, “AP”, etc., and SOURCE is blank
for manual entries.
To create an ACL table containing manual entries:
· Set a filter, SOURCE = “ “ and click the green checkmark
· Click Data / Extract data…
· Select “Record”
· Next to “To:”, Enter the name of a new ACL table which will contain
manual entries; such as MANUAL_JEs
To create an ACL table containing standard or automated journal entries:
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· Set a filter, SOURCE <> “ “ and click the green checkmark

· Click Data / Extract data…
· Select “Record”
· Next to “To:”, Enter the name of a new ACL table which will contain
automated journal entries; such as AUTOMATED_JEs
It is imperative that you understand the representation of manual versus
standard or automated journal entries. If entity personnel provide guidelines
based on a field like SOURCE in the aforementioned example, it is a best
practice to run the Classify command on the identifying field (SOURCE). The
classify command produces a list of every different value encountered. You can
develop expectations on the amount of manual versus standard entries. Also,
you will be able to understand all of the sources, expected and otherwise.
· To run Classify on a field like SOURCE (from the previous example):
· Click on Analyze / Classify
· Under Classify on, click to select the identifying field (SOURCE)
· Under Subtotal fields, click to select Debit and Credit
· Click [OK]
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D. Exclusions
Audit Procedures Exclusions
Audit Procedure Based on our understanding of the entity's financial reporting process and our
Description judgment regarding the risk of material misstatement due to fraud, certain
groups of journal entries or accounts may be excluded from further analysis.
Rationale and additional work supporting such exclusions are included in our
working papers.
Test Description Filter out specific journal entries or accounts from further analysis.
Step by Step The following examples show some common filters which perform exclusions.
Instructions using ACL These examples may or may not resemble your specific situation but you can
adapt them based on your needs, or create similar filters. After a filter is in place,
use the Extract command to create a new ACL table containing all but the
excluded data.
1. Specifically excluding Journal Entries by journal entry number.
Assuming the Journal Entry number is a character field called JENO and entries
to exclude are 11111, 55555, 24680 and 00000. Set a filter:
· NOT MATCH(JENO,”11111”,”55555”,”24680”,”00000”) and click the
green checkmark
Assuming the Journal Entry number is a numeric field called JENO and entries
to exclude are 11111, 55555, 24680 and 00000. Set a filter:
· NOT MATCH(JENO,11111,55555,24680,0) and click the
green checkmark
2. Specifically excluding transactions to certain account numbers.
Assuming the account number is a character field called ACCT_NO and you
want to exclude transactions to accounts beginning with “9”. Set a filter:
· SUB(ACCT_NO,1,1) <> “9” and click the green checkmark
The above mentioned example excluded all accounts starting with a 9. To
exclude a range of accounts starting with 92, then you would set the following
filter:
· SUB(ACCT_NO,1,2) <> “92” and click the green checkmark
3. Specifically excluding transactions for a specific entity.
Assuming there is a field called CO which represents an entity number. If you
wanted to exclude transactions for entity 99, set a filter:
· CO <> “99” and click the green checkmark
· To exclude transactions for multiple entities, set a filter:
· NOT MATCH(CO,”00”,”86”,”99”) and click the green checkmark
4. To exclude transactions based on a combination of factors, for example,
excluding entries where the source is “DEBT SYSTEM” and the journal entry
number is “00000”, set a filter:
· SOURCE <> “DEBT SYSTEM” AND JENO <> “00000” and click the
green checkmark.
As shown in example 4. with all filters, you can apply more than one filter using
a conjunction - OR, or AND.
To extract the data to a new ACL table, after the filter is set:
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· Click Data / Extract data

· Click to select Record (means all fields will be selected)
· Next to “To:”, enter the name of a new ACL table
· Click [OK]
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III. Population Summary
Perform analysis on the population of journal entries to generate summary statistics of the journal entry
population. This information is useful in gaining an understanding of the composition of the journal entry
population.
ACL step-by-step testing section: Population Summary
A. Population Statistics Overview
Audit Procedures Population Statistics Overview
Audit Procedure Prior to the commencement of Journal Entry Profiling, it can be helpful to run
Description some high level procedures, to get an overview of the size and general makeup
of the journal detail lines within your file.
Test Description This test provides instructions for performing a high-level analysis on the journal
entry detail file.
Step by Step STATISTICS–For every numeric and date field, run the Statistics Command to
Instructions using determine totals, averages, ranges between the largest and smallest items, and
ACL display the values
for the five largest and smallest items encountered in the population Specifically:
· Click on Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· Click to select a numeric or date field
· Click [OK].
Note: pay attention to results in fields with an opposite expected value (e.g.,
negative items in the Debit Amount field, or positive items in the Credit Amount
field.)
Run the Statistics function on all numeric and date fields
To identify highest, lowest, average, and zero journal lines
How to perform the test using ACL:
· Click to select a numeric or date field, and click [OK]
· When you select the Debit field, you’ll see total debits, average debits,
etc. Where it says “Highest” and “Lowest”, you are seeing the 5 largest
Debits and 5 smallest Debits. Do the same for Credits.
If you have separate Debit and Credit fields, you can net them into an Amount or
Net field, and then generate Statistics.
· Click on Analyze / Statistical / Statistics.
· Click the [Statistics On…] button, click on the [Expr…] button
· Under where it says Expression, type Debit-Credit and click
[OK][OK][OK] to run the command. (Assuming the fields are named Debit
and Credit)
Note: In the line above you are netting Debit and Credit solely for the
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execution of the Statistics command, assuming a net amount field does not
already exist. To the right of where you type the expression, under “Save as”,
you could enter the name of a new field to be created; such as “AMOUNT”.
In this case, you would be creating a new field called AMOUNT, and running
Statistics on it, all at the same time. The AMOUNT field would be available
for other commands and filters as if it were created under Edit / Table layout.
If you leave “Save as” blank, the net amount will be used only for the current
execution of the Statistics command.
For dates, do the same:
· Click to select a date field, and click [OK]
· The totals won’t make sense; don’t look at them. The “Average” will be
the average date. If it is later than mid-year, then more entry lines are
later in the year. Also, look at the “Highest” and “Lowest”. The top of the
highest list is the date of the last entry in the file. The lowest has the
earliest. Here is where you can check for cutoff issues. (i.e., Highest is
01/05/05 and cutoff is 12/31/04). If you see “Empty date” listed in the
highest or lowest, then you have missing or invalid dates in the
population.
To get a list:
· Click on the blue underlined “Empty date” in the lowest section and a
filter will be set so you can see all entry lines with missing or invalid
dates.
· Alternatively (and assuming your entry date is called ENTRY_DT), you
can set a filter ENTRY_DT = CTOD("") to get a list of missing or invalid
dates.
CLASSIFY. For every code or brief description field, run the Classify Command
to obtain a concise list of every different value encountered within that field
(column). For example, if there is a field for “Username”, and you have 30,000
entry lines, Classifying on Username will produce a concise list of Usernames,
and the number of entry lines each of the users prepared. Examples of fields to
Classify on include codes like “Entry type”, “Source”, “Package”, “UserID”,
“System”, “Company”, “Acct Type”, “Period”, etc. These are codes or descriptive
fields which contain relatively few different values, and repeat many times within
the data. Having a list of values, counts, and totals can provide insight, and steer
the direction of testing approaches. To use the Classify Command:
· Under [Classify on…] select the Username field, or the name of a field
which is a code
· Under [Subtotal Fields…] hold the (Ctrl) key and click to select Debit and
Credit or Amount if there is a single column containing the net of Debit
and Credit
· Click [OK]
CLASSIFY vs. SUMMARIZE commands; Which one to use and when?
CLASSIFY is used to quickly find “one of everything” in a field and display a short
list on the screen. The assumption is there are a few, say less than 100 different
values within a field; often repeating many times. For example, there are a few
different Usernames, Locations, or Entry Types, amongst many records of data,
and you would use Classify to list them out with their corresponding totals.
SUMMARIZE also gives you a list of “one of everything” found in a field. It
creates a new file containing the results. The assumption is there are many
different values in the field. Typical fields for use with this command would be
Entry number, Customer number, Vendor number, Account number and Batch
number. For example Summarizing on Vendor Number will produce a new Table
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(file) with Vendor Totals. Summarize allows you to bring along fields as it
produces a new file, which is useful for further testing.
Use the Stratify function on amounts to stratify into dollar value ranges
How to perform the test using ACL:
If you have separate fields for Debit and Credit:
· Click on Analyze / Stratify
· Under [Stratify on…], select Debit
· Under [Subtotal Fields…] click to select Debit
· IMPORTANT: On the right, where it says “Minimum”, “Maximum” and
“Intervals”, enter even ranges. For example, a maximum of 100000 and a
minimum of 0 with 10 intervals. This will guarantee even ranges of 0-
9999, 10000-19999, etc. You can use a variety of ranges; make sure
they are even numbers.
· Click [OK] and you will get a listing of ranges with the number of entries
falling into their respective ranges, plus totals. In the ranges with larger
dollar amounts, you’ll notice a low number of entry lines (COUNT) with a
relatively large coverage dollar wise.
· When done with Debits, do the same for credits
If you have one field which has an “Amount” where debits are positive and credits
are negative. First (for debits):
· Set a filter: AMOUNT > 0
· Click on Analyze / Stratify
· Under [Stratify on…], select Amount
· Under [Subtotal Fields…] click to select Amount
· IMPORTANT: On the right, where it says “Minimum”, “Maximum” and
“Intervals”, enter even ranges. For example, a maximum of 100000 and a
minimum of 0 with 10 intervals. This will guarantee even ranges of 0-
9999, 10000-19999, etc. You can use a variety of ranges; make sure
they are even numbers.
· Click [OK] and you will get a listing of ranges with number of entries
falling into their respective ranges, plus totals. In the ranges with larger
dollar amounts, you’ll notice a low number of entry lines (COUNT) with a
relatively large coverage dollar wise.
When done with Debits, run the test for Credits.
· Set the filter to AMOUNT < 0
· For minimum, you’ll select something like -100000, maximum 0, and
intervals 10
NOTE: If you want to set your own specific ranges, as opposed to MAX – MIN /
Intervals, click the dot next to “Free”. Then in the white-space, type your ranges.
For example, 0 (hit enter) 1000 (hit enter) 5000 (hit enter) and so on. Click [OK]
and your population will be stratified based on your own ranges.
Selections These procedures create results that may warrant further investigation. Consider
performing further drill down analysis. These procedures may include sorting by
dollar amount, filtering on account number, stratifying by date, or classifying on
user based on specific areas of audit interest and judgment. These additional
procedures may identify specific journal entries exhibiting characteristics of
interest to be selected for detail testing.
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IV. Identification of Potential Indicators of Deficiencies in Internal

Control
Analyze journal entry data to identify potential deviations in the operating effectiveness of internal controls over
the financial statement closing process as well as relevant General IT-Controls, and flag journal entries of
interest for testing either via direct selection or inclusion of subpopulation in sample selection process. When
analyses identify potential indicators of deficiencies in controls over the journal entry posting process, evaluate
such indicators to determine whether they represent deficiencies in the related control activities. Document our
consideration of the effect of such deficiencies on a) our responsibility to communicate deficiencies identified
in a financial statement audit, and b) on our report on internal control over financial reporting (where
applicable).
If errors are identified within any of the tests below – the auditor uses judgment in determining whether the file
received from the entity is complete, and that it contains valid information. If there is some concern with the
results, a discussion with appropriate entity personnel takes place to determine whether portions of the JE
Data File are to be removed (which also may help in reconciling to the trial balance), whether the results
identified represent issues to be noted, and/or if a new journal entry file is to be requested.
ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls
A. Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts
Audit Procedures Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts
Audit Procedure All suspense accounts are identified and significant suspense accounts or
Description significant suspense items are reviewed by management or other supervisory
personnel on a timely basis. Appropriate journal entries to reclassify amounts into
the appropriate general ledger account are prepared and reviewed as part of this
process.
Test Description Identify entries made to suspense accounts and validate that the suspense
account balances net to zero as expected.
Step by Step Assuming suspense accounts have an account number range of “60000-79999”,
Instructions using net activity for the sum of these accounts should equal zero. Assume the account
ACL number field is called ACCT_NO. Set the following filter:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “60000”, “79999”) Click the Green Checkmark
If there is only a single amount field representing the net of debits and credits
(credits being negative) and that field is called AMOUNT:
· Analyze / Classify
· Under “Classify On”, select ACCT_NO
· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select AMOUNT
· Click [OK]
Note: at the bottom of the Classify command’s output, the total should be zero.
The Classify command’s output also lists the net balance of each suspense
account – whereby you can identify the specific suspense accounts which are out
of balance.
If your table has separate Debit and Credit fields:
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· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select DEBIT and CREDIT

· Click [OK]
Note: at the bottom of the Classify command’s output, the total debits should
equal the total credits. The Classify command’s output also lists the net debit and
credit activity for each suspense account – whereby you can identify the specific
suspense accounts which are out of balance.
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B. User Authorization Control Indicators
Audit Procedures User Authorization Control Indicators
Audit Procedure Identify entries made by individuals who typically do not make entries. Identify
Description entries with blank/missing user IDs.
Test Description Summarize postings by users during the test period. This information is useful in
identifying:
1. Unauthorized users, or those you would not expect to post journal entries
2. Inconsistent or unexpected user activity: if a user was terminated, there
should be no postings from that user after the termination date
3. Users who may have exceed their posting authorization level
4. Users with high dollar and low count totals. Entries made by individuals who
typically do not make entries as a characteristic of interest to consider. A
decision is made as to what constitutes “infrequent” based on the
professional judgment of the engagement team and its understanding of the
entity’s business processes
5. Users with high dollar and high count totals.
Instructions noted below count the number of detailed journal entry lines each
user entered during the period under review to identify infrequent users.
Step by Step If you have a field (column) representing a Username, Source, or System, the
Instructions using CLASSIFY command will provide a list of one-of-everything contained within that
ACL column. For example, if you have 10,000 entry lines, and nine Usernames,
Classify will provide a concise list of the nine users, the number of entries each
user prepared, and the dollar totals per username.
· Under [Classify on…] select the Username field
Credit. Or Amount if there is a single column
· Click [OK]
Observe the list to identify individuals that do not typically prepare entries.
Usernames with low “COUNT” are indications. Also, look for “XXX number of
spaces” as one of the usernames. Those are the entries with missing usernames.
Repeat the above steps using other identifying fields like Source or System under
[Classify on…].
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C. Journal Entry Detail Lines With Invalid Chart Of Account Information
Audit Procedures Journal Entry Detail Lines With Invalid Chart Of Account Information
Audit Procedure Entities typically implement a combination of manual and automated controls
Description around the posting of journal entries to valid accounts. Search relevant
characteristics of journal entries for indicators of potential deficiencies in account
maintenance.
Test Description Identify journal entry detail lines which represent activity to accounts not listed in
the Chart of Accounts. If a large percentage of accounts on the Chart of Accounts
(COA) are not used in the financial reporting process, it may be an indicator that
the chart of accounts is not being maintained regularly.
Step by Step Data Need: You will need your Journal Entry File and a Chart of Accounts file
Instructions using both imported as Tables in ACL. If you do not have a Chart of Accounts, you can
ACL use the Trial Balance instead. The Chart of Accounts file must have, at a
minimum, an Account Number field and an Account Description field.
Prior to executing the test searching for entries made to invalid accounts, the
following commands could be run to identify potential problems with the chart of
accounts itself (Assumptions: The account number is called ACCT_NO and the
account name is called ACCOUNT_NAME)
Duplicate accounts in the Chart of Accounts
· Click Analyze / Look for duplicates
· Under “Sequence on”, select ACCT_NO
· Under “List fields”, select all fields including ACCT_NO and
ACCT_NAME
· Ensure “Presort” is checked
· Click the “Output” tab, and enter the name of a new ACL table which will
hold any duplicate accounts found, such as DUP_ACCTS
· Click [OK]
Accounts in the Chart of Accounts with blank account numbers
· Set a filter, ACCT_NO=” “ and click the green checkmark
Note: If your view shows no accounts and ACL displays “End of data”, there
were no findings.
Accounts in the Chart of Accounts with blank account names or descriptions
· Set a filter, ACCT_NAME=” “ and click the green checkmark
were no findings.
Accounts in the Chart of Accounts with very short account names (for example,
less than 5 characters long)
· Set a filter, Length(Trim(ACCT_NAME)) < 5 and click the green
checkmark
were no findings.
You will need to Join the Journal Entry file (treated as the primary file) to the
Chart of Accounts file (treated as the secondary file), using the Unmatched
option, in order to identify entries to accounts not contained within the Chart of
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Accounts.
Open the original Journal Entry file, as Primary.
· Click on Data / Join
· Under Secondary File, Select the “CHART_OF_ACCOUNTS” table
· Select ACCT_NO both as the Primary and Secondary keys
· Click Primary Fields; select Add All; click [OK]
· Click Secondary Fields; Select only ACCOUNT_NAME; click [OK]
· Make sure that both the Primary and Secondary File Presort options are
selected
· Select the More tab
· Under Join Categories, Select Unmatched Primary Records
· Under To… enter the name of the new table to be created (i.e.
ENTRIES_MADE_TO_INVALID_ACCTS)
The new ACL table will contain the detail lines for each transaction that has a
debit or a credit to an unknown account number. In order to identify all of the
detail lines for the entire Journal Entry, switch back to the Journal Entry File, and
set a filter for the JE_NUM in question. (For example; JE_NUM = “12345”). This
will provide all detail lines for that particular entry which has at least one detail
line with a debit or credit to the account number in question. If there is a large
frequency of journal entry numbers referencing invalid/unknown accounts, you
will want to use the Join command to join those entry numbers back to the
original detail in the Journal Entry file. Contact an Exploratory Data Analysis
Specialist for further details on the Join Command.
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D. Duplicate Detail Lines
Audit Procedures Duplicate Detail Lines
Audit Procedure Identify duplicate detail lines and duplicate postings to the same account.
Description
Test Description Identify journal entry detail lines which have the same journal entry number and
line number, representing a potential duplicate entry.
Step by Step 1. Journal Entry lines with the same journal entry number and line number:
Instructions using Data Need: required fields are Entry Number and Line Number.
ACL
· Click on Analyze / Look for Duplicates
· Under [Sequence on]
· Hold down the (Ctrl) key and select both the Entry Number, and Line
Number fields
· Click the button [List Fields…]
· Click “Add All”, and then click [OK]
· Go to the “Output” tab and type DUP_JE_LINE next to [Name] and click
[OK]
You will create a new Table in ACL called DUP_JE_LINE which will contain all
entry lines with duplicates of the combo of Journal Entry Number and Line
Number. Not all journal entry files will have a Line Number field available; the
following tests will provide additional detail without the availability of a Line
Number.
2. Journal Entry lines with the same amount being posted to the same account.
(Duplicates on the combination of account number and amount.) Assuming
the account number field is called ACCT_NO and debit and credit have
previously been netted into an AMOUNT field.
· Under [Sequence on]
· Hold down the (Ctrl) key and select both the ACCT_NO, and AMOUNT
fields
· Go to the “Output” tab and type DUP_ACCT_AMT next to [Name] and
click [OK]
You will create a new Table in ACL called DUP_ACCT_AMT which will contain all
entry lines with duplicates of the combo of the account number and the amount.
3. For Journal Entry lines with the same Account and ABSOLUTE VALUE
AMOUNT (Same amount, both positive and negative). Assuming the account
number field is called ACCT_NO and debit and credit have previously been
netted into an AMOUNT field.
· Click on the button [Sequence on]
· Double-click on ACCT_NO and it will jump to the right
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· Click [EXPR]
· Under “Expression” type ABS(AMOUNT) and click [OK], and again [OK]
· Go to the “Output” tab and type DUP_ACCT_ABSAMT next to [Name]
and click [OK]
You will create a new Table in ACL called DUP_ACCT_ABSAMT which will
contain all entry lines with duplicates of the combo of the account number and the
amount. With this test, you will see offsetting entries, in addition to what 2 (above)
provides. You may want to scroll through the results to determine whether there
are offsetting entries which appear large or unusual which may warrant further
investigation.
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E. Detail Lines With An Effective Date Outside The Test Period
Audit Procedures Detail Lines With An Effective Date Outside The Test Period
Audit Procedure Confirm entries related to period under audit.

Description
Test Description Identify entries in the journal entry file which are not related to activity in the
current period under review.
Step by Step Assume the testing period is January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005. The
Instructions using approach is to set a filter which includes entry lines which fall outside of that date
ACL range.
The Statistics Command, when applied to a date field, will display the earliest and
most recent dates encountered within the population.
Assume you are testing a field called EFF_DT which represents the effective
date, and should fall within our testing period:
· Click Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· To the right of “Statistics On…” click to select EFF_DT
· Click [OK]
The Highest and Lowest date values displayed indicate the most recent and
earliest dates within the file. If the Highest and Lowest fall within the testing
period, no further procedures are necessary. However, if you note dates which
are outside the testing period, then you set the following filter to isolate the entries
with an effective date outside the testing period.
Using ACL’s filtering interface, set the following filter:
· EFF_DT < `20050101` or EFF_DT > `20051231` And, click the Green
checkmark
Note; the backwards single quote [ ` ] is located under the tilde key [ ~ ] on your
keyboard. Items which are displayed after the filter has been set, represent the
entry lines outside the testing period, and can be analyzed using other ACL
Commands including, Extract, and Export. The latter of which can put these items
into an Excel format. Remember, when a filter is in effect, all commands which
are executed run only on the records meeting the filter’s criteria. Always check
the bottom of your screen to see if a filter is in effect before executing a
command.
Selections These procedures create results that may warrant further investigation Consider
interest to be selected for detail testing
Page 23 of 52
F. Detail Lines With An Invalid Post Date
Audit Procedures Detail Lines With An Invalid Post Date
Audit Procedure Confirm entry post dates are valid

Description
Test Description Identify entries in the file which have a post date which does not make logical
sense (e.g. an entry that takes place far in the past or future).
Step by Step As noted earlier, for date cutoff testing:

Instructions using
ACL · Click on Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· Click to select a date field, and click [OK]
The totals won’t make sense; don’t look at them. The “Average” will be the
average date. If it is later than mid-year, then more entry lines are later in the
year. Review the “Highest” and “Lowest”. The top of the highest list is the date of
the last entry in the file. The lowest has the earliest.
Here is where you can check for cutoff issues. For example, highest is 01/05/05
and cutoff is 12/31/04. If you see “Empty date” listed in the highest or lowest, then
you have missing or invalid dates in the population.
To get a list:
· Click on the blue underlined “Empty date” in the Lowest section - a filter
will be set so you can see all entry lines with missing or invalid dates
· Alternatively (and assuming your entry date is called ENTRY_DT), you
can set a filter ENTRY_DT = CTOD("") to get a list of missing or invalid
dates
· From there, CLASSIFY on username and other fields to get more
information
If you note dates which are outside the testing period, then you will need to set
the following filter to isolate the entries with a post date outside the testing period.
Using ACL’s filtering interface, set the following filter:
· POST_DT < `20050101` or POST_DT > `20051231` And, click the
Green checkmark
Note: the backwards single quote [ ` ] is located under the tilde key [ ~ ] on your
keyboard. Items which are displayed after the filter has been set, represent the
entry lines outside the testing period, and are subject to other ACL Commands
including, Extract, and Export. The latter of which can put these items into an
Excel format.
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G. Search For Related Party Transactions In The General Ledger
Audit Procedures Search For Related Party Transactions In The General Ledger
Audit Procedure Management must approve all related-party transactions. Higher-level

Description management authority is required for unusual transactions and events, including
those that exceed established limits. Board approval is required for specified
types of related-party transactions and this approval is appropriately documented.
Test Description Identify related party journal entries in the journal entry data file.
Step by Step The test searches for related party names in the journal entry description or
Instructions using account description fields.
ACL
To search for specific related parties:
· Use the “Find” function to do word searches. Assume the journal entry
description field is called JE_DESC, try this filter assuming you are aware
of Steinburger, Inc. as a related party:
· Find(“STEINBURGER”, JE_DESC)
· To display a concise list of all occurrences where your search criteria was
found, and respective subtotaled amounts,
· Under “Classify on…” select the JE_DESC
· Under “Subtotal fields” click to select the field representing journal entry
debit and credit amounts
· Click [OK]
With the filter set, you can Export the records meeting the search criteria to Excel:
· Click on Data / Export to another application
· Select “View” for all fields
· Select “Excel 2.1” for the type of file to export to
· Under “To”, select a name for the Excel file
· Click [OK]
· Note, unless otherwise specified, the Excel file will be located in the same
folder as the ACL project
To search the account description field, assume the account description field is
called ACCT_DESC. Replace JE_DESC in the above procedures and report the
test (note: this test may need to be performed in the chart of account file as
account description may not be in the journal entry detail file).
V. Journal Entry Analysis Tests
The tests below are used to identify journal entry detail lines containing attributes noted by ISA 240 as having
Page 25 of 52
characteristics to consider when testing journal entries. ISA 240 identifies five characteristics of interest:
1. Entries made to unusual, unrelated, or seldom-used accounts

2. Entries made by individuals who typically do not make entries
3. Entries recorded at the end of the period or as post-closing entries that have little or no explanation or
description
4. Entries made either before or during the preparation of the financial statement that do not have account
numbers
5. Entries that contain round numbers or consistent ending numbers
Listed below are ACL step-by-step procedures for tests to address characteristics of interest. This is not an all
inclusive list, as additional tests may be performed based on auditor judgment and entity risk factors. After each test
is performed, the auditor evaluates the results, to determine the volume, size, and timing for selections that are to be
made in order to gain comfort over the validity of those entries.
Note: After reconciliation is performed and segregation of standard and non-standard entries is complete, many of
the tests described in this document can be run in a sequence other than the order in which they appear. Prior to
performing the tests that follow, one general assumption is that you will return to the original table of reconciled
journal entry data, and that all filters are turned off (by hitting the red check mark next to the Filter line). Always be
aware of your active population before commencing a test.
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1. Entries made to unrelated, unusual, or seldom used account
ACL step-by-step testing section: Entries made to unrelated, unusual, or seldom used account
A. Seldom Used Accounts
Audit Procedures Seldom Used Accounts
Audit Procedure Review accounts with few number of lines posted in a period. Determination of
Description “few’” is based on professional judgment and understanding of the entity’s
financial reporting process.
Test Description Count the number of times each account was used in entries during the period
under review.
Step by Step How to perform the test using ACL:

Instructions using
ACL · Click on Analyze / Summarize
· On the “Main” tab, select the Account_number field under [Summarize
on],
· Select the Acct_description field under [Other Fields]
· Select the Debit and Credit fields under [Subtotal Fields]
· Go to the “Output” tab and put ACCT_SUMMARY next to [Name]
· Click [OK]
You will create a new Table in ACL called ACCT_SUMMARY which will contain
one row per unique Account number from your original file. Essentially a Trial
Balance. A new field called “Count” is created which contains the number of entry
lines hitting each particular account for the period your data file covers. Review the
count column for low numbers.
· You can set a filter, COUNT < 5 (or whatever you consider as being low)
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B. Large Journal Entry Detail Lines by Account
Audit Procedures Large Journal Entry Detail Lines by Account
Audit Procedure Review large journal entry detail lines for additional analysis.
Description
Test Description Identifies the largest journal entry detail line for a given account.
Step by Step This test involves a series of steps. First you will create an Absolute Value
Instructions using Amount field. Then, you will sort and summarize the data in a unique way in order
ACL to determine the largest transactions per account. Lastly, you use the Join
command to extract all detailed lines of the full Journal Entry where the largest
transaction to a particular account existed.
The following steps will create the Absolute Amount field:
Assuming debits and credits have been previously netted into a single field called
AMOUNT; the following steps will create an additional field for the absolute value
of the amount:
· Click… Edit / Table Layout
· Click the “Add expression” icon…

· Under “Name”, enter ABS_AMOUNT
· Under “Default Value”, Enter ABS(AMOUNT)
· Click the green checkmark to create the ABS_AMOUNT field
· Click the [X] in the upper right corner of Edit / Table layout’s screen to
return to your main view
· Click the “Add column” icon…

· Don’t forget to add ABS_AMOUNT to your view
Assuming there are separate fields for Debit and Credit; the following steps will
create a single absolute value amount field:

· Under “Name”, enter ABS_AMOUNT
· Under “Default Value”, Enter ABS(DEBIT-CREDIT)
· Click [OK]
· Click the green checkmark to create the ABS_AMOUNT field
· Click the “Add column” icon… Don’t forget to add ABS_AMOUNT

to your view
Sort the Data:
Then, the following step will sort the data in a particular way, to prepare it for
summarization. The steps for sorting must be followed precisely as a particular
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feature in the summarize command is used to extract the largest amounts by

account. It is important that the data is sorted Ascending by account number, and
Descending by the absolute value of the amount.
Assuming the general ledger account number is called ACCT_NO; and a single
ABS_AMOUNT field; use the INDEX command for sorting data:
· Data / Create index…
· Click on “Index on…”, double click the field(s) you want the data to be
sorted by.
In this case, ACCT_NO and ABS_AMOUNT.
Make sure to click the arrow next to ABS_AMOUNT, to set the direction to
Descending, as shown below:
· Click [OK]
· Next to “To:”, name the index. Name it after the field you used; like
“by_ACCT_AND_ABS_AMOUNT”
· Note, the check by “use output table” will launch you into the sorted view
upon completion of the index command
· Click [OK]
In the upper right of the screen, you will see “by_ACCT_AND_ABS_AMOUNT”
under “Index”. There is a drop-down arrow. You can switch between indexes in
order to switch amongst sorted views. And, selecting (none) lets you view the data
unsorted. However, keep the Index as “by_ACCT_AND_ABS_AMOUNT” when
applying the following steps for Summarization:
To Summarize:
· On the “Main” tab, select the ACCT_NO field under [Summarize on]
· Click on [Other Fields], Select Add All fields ; click [OK]
· Under Subtotal fields, do not select anything
· Go to the “Output” tab and put LARGEST_BY_ACCOUNT next to [Name]
and click [OK]
· You’ve now created a new Table in ACL called
LARGEST_BY_ACCOUNT which has the largest transaction detail which
was posted to each account number encountered within the data
You now have the largest item for each account. If you wish to obtain every line
for the journal entries associated with these details, then you need to Join this
summary file (treated as the secondary file) back to the original journal entry file
(treated as the primary file).
Open the original Journal Entry file, as Primary.
· Click on Data / Join

· Under Secondary File, Select the “LARGEST_BY_ACCOUNT” table
· Select JRNL_NO both as the Primary and Secondary keys
Page 29 of 52
· Click Secondary Fields; Select only ABS_AMOUNT; click [OK]

selected
ENTRY_DETAIL_LARGE_ACCOUNT_IMPACT)
Page 30 of 52
C. Entries with Key Words of Audit Interest in Descriptions
Audit Procedures Entries with Key Words of Audit Interest in Descriptions
Audit Procedure Review journal entry descriptions to identify entries for further analysis.
Description
Test Description Scan the journal entry description field and identify entries with key words of audit
interest.
Step by Step ACL has a search tool called the Find Function. It searches through a field
Instructions using (column) in a fashion similar to the (Ctrl)+F in Excel.
ACL
· After setting a filter using the Find Function,
· CLASSIFY on the field you searched through in order to get a concise list
of findings
Syntax of the Find Function is FIND (“what I am looking for”, Field being
searched). Note: there are quotes around what you are searching for, but not
around the field name. Examples:
· Find(“reverse”,DESC)
· Find(“reclass”,DESC)
Note, to look for multiple words in DESC field, repeat the same filter multiple times
on the filter bar, with the operator OR in between them. For example:
· Find("reverse",DESC) OR Find("reclass",DESC) OR Find("as requested")
OR Find("hidden",DESC)
A field called DESC is being searched for these terms. To get a concise list of
findings,
· Set the desired filter with the find function
· Click Analyze / Classify
· Under [Classify On…] select the DESC field (DESC being the field being
searched using the Find function in this example)
· Under [Subtotal fields…] select Debit and Credit
· Click [OK]
Below are some key words which might be searched. Not all of these key words
are applicable to all situations, and there may be other words to consider
searching for that are not included in this listing. Note, quotes included in the table
below were added to illustrate the placement of spaces on either side of a
keyword. When using the Find function, quotes are always required to represent a
search string or keyword.
" ADJ " DUMMY " RECL "
"ADJUST" EARLY RECLASS
" ALTER " " EBIT " RECLS
AS DIRECTED EBITDA RECONCILE
AS REQUESTED ERROR REDUCE
BURY FICTITIOUS REDUCT
CAPITAL FRAUD RESTATE
" CEO " HIDE " REV "
" CFO " HIDDEN REVERSAL
CLASSIF HOLDBACK REVERSE
CONCEAL IMMATERIAL RISKS
Page 31 of 52
CONFIDENTIAL IMPROPER SCREEN

CONTROLLER INAPPROPRIATE " SECRET "
COOKIE JAR INCREASE SMOOTH
CORRECT KITTY SPREAD
" COVER " MANAGE EARNINGS " TEMP "
COVERUP MANIP " TEST "
COVER-UP MISSTATE TRANSF
D&T OPPORTUNIT TSFR
DELETE "PER " TXFR
DELOITTE PLUG UNSUPPORTED
" DT " PROBLEM
Page 32 of 52
D. Entries with Credits to Revenue
Audit Procedures Entries with Credits to Revenue
Audit Procedure Review journal entries with credits to revenue accounts for further analysis. Test
Description provides information on the off-setting debit in order to consider whether the debit
is unrelated to the credit (e.g., Debit: Fixed Assets and Credit: Revenue).
Test Description Identify journal entries with at least one credit to revenue accounts.
Step by Step Assume the revenue accounts have an account number range of “40000-59999”.
Instructions using Assume the account number field is called ACCT_NO. If your table has separate
ACL Debit and Credit fields; set the following filter:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “40000”, “59999”) and CREDIT > 0
· Click the Green Checkmark
NOTE: If you have separate fields for Debit and Credit, and Credit is carried as a
negative number, the aforementioned filter will be:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “40000”, “59999”) and CREDIT < 0
Then, to obtain a list of Journal Entries which have a credit to a revenue account;
· Analyze / Summarize
· Under “Summarize On”, select JRNL_NUM
· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select CREDIT
· Go to the “Output” tab and put JE_WITH_REVENUE_CREDITS next to
[Name] and click [OK]
JE_WITH_REVENUE_CREDITS which has a list of all Journal Entry
numbers which credited a revenue account.
· Click [OK]
Then, you will Join this file with the original Journal Entry detail file, in order to
identify the accounts with debit activity within those same journal entries. Open the
original Journal Entry file, as Primary.
· Click on Data / Join Tables…
· Under Secondary File, Select the “JE_WITH_REVENUE_CREDITS” table
· Click Secondary Fields; Select only CREDIT; click [OK]
selected
· JE_DR_ACTIVITY_WITH_CR_TO_REV)
· Click [OK]
You now have a Table in ACL which contains all of the debit detail lines for Journal
Entries which also contained a credit to Revenue. Classify on the Account number
(and/or Account description), to see which accounts are being debited, and for
how much.
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· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select DEBIT
· Click [OK]
Note: Once the Classify command has been run, you will be able to select any
account number by clicking on the blue-underlined value in the ACCT_NO field, to
engage a filter within the file to identify all of the detail lines with debits to that
account (and credits to a revenue account). Note, as you will have all of the fields
available for each detail line, you will be able to determine the account name being
debited.
procedures may identify specific journal entries exhibiting characteristics of interest
to be selected for detail testing.
Page 34 of 52
E. Entries with Credits to Expense
Audit Procedures Entries with Credits to Expense
Audit Procedure Review journal entries with credits to expense accounts for further analysis.
Description
Test Description Identify journal entries with at least one credit to expense accounts.
Step by Step Assume expense accounts have an account number range of “30000-39999”.
Instructions using Assume the account number field is called ACCT_NO. If your table has separate
ACL Debit and Credit fields; set the following filter:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “30000”, “39999”) and CREDIT > 0
· Click the Green Checkmark
NOTE: If you have separate fields for Debit and Credit, and Credit is carried as a
negative number, the aforementioned filter will be:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “30000”, “39999”) and CREDIT < 0
Then, to obtain a list of Journal Entries which have a credit to an Expense account;
· Under “Summarize On”, select JRNL_NUM
· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select CREDIT
· Go to the “Output” tab and put JE_WITH_EXPENSE_CREDITS next to
[Name] and click [OK]
JE_WITH_EXPENSE_CREDITS which has a list of all Journal Entry
numbers which credited an Expense Account.
· Click [OK]
Then, you will Join this file with the original Journal Entry detail file, in order to
identify the accounts with debit activity within those same journal entries. Open the
original Journal Entry file, as Primary.
· Click on Data / Join Tables…
· Under Secondary File, Select the “JE_WITH_EXPENSE_CREDITS” table
· Click Secondary Fields; Select only CREDIT; click [OK]
selected
JE_DR_ACTIVITY_WITH_CR_TO_REV)
· Click [OK]
You now have a Table in ACL which contains all of the debit detail lines for Journal
Entries which also contained a credit to Expense. You will then Classify on the
Account number, to see which accounts are being debited, and for how much.
Page 35 of 52

· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select DEBIT
· Click [OK]
Note: once the Classify command has been run, you will be able to select any
account number by clicking on the blue-underlined value in the ACCT_NO field, to
engage a filter within the file to identify all of the detail lines with debits to that
account (and credits to an expense account). Note, as you will have all of the fields
available for each detail line, you will be able to determine the account name being
debited.
Page 36 of 52
2. Entries made by Individuals who Typically Do Not Make Journal Entries
ACL step-by-step testing section: Entries made by Individuals who Typically Do Not Make Journal
Entries
A. User Entries With Few Journal Lines
Audit Procedures User Entries With Few Journal Lines
Audit Procedure Identify entries made by individuals who typically do not make entries. Identify
Description entries with blank/missing user IDs.
Test Description Summarize postings by users during the test period. This information is useful in
identifying:
1. Unauthorized users or those you would not expect to post journal entries.
2. Inconsistent or unexpected user activity: if a user was terminated, there
should be no postings from that user after the termination date.
3. Users who may have exceeded their posting authorization level.
4. Users with high dollar and low count totals. AU 316 identifies testing on entries
made by individuals who typically do not make entries as a characteristic of
interest to consider. A decision is made as to what constitutes “infrequent”
based on the professional judgment of the engagement team and its
understanding of the entity’s business processes.
5. Users with high dollar and high count totals.
Instructions noted below count the number of detailed journal entry lines each user
entered during the period under review to identify infrequent users
Step by Step If you have a field (column) representing a Username, Source, or System, the
Instructions using CLASSIFY command will provide a list of one-of-everything contained within that
ACL column. For example, if you have 1,000,000 entry lines, and nine Usernames,
Classify will provide a concise list of the nine users, the number of entries each
user prepared, and the dollar totals per username.
· Under [Classify on…] select the Username field
Credit or Amount if there is a single column
· Click [OK].
Observe the list to identify individuals that do not typically prepare entries.
Usernames with low “COUNT” are indications. Also, look for “XXX number of
spaces” as one of the usernames. Those are the entries with missing usernames.
Repeat the above steps using other identifying fields like Source or System under
[Classify on…].
Page 37 of 52
B. Entries Made on Unusual Days
Audit Procedures Entries Made on Unusual Days
Audit Procedure Review journal entries posted on unusual days for further analysis.
Description
Test Description Identifies entries booked on unusual days. These could be weekend days or
holidays, depending on what is considered unusual practice at the entity.
Step by Step For entries by day of week, assuming you have a field called ENTRY_DT.
Instructions using
ACL · Click on Analyze / Classify
· Click the [Classify On…] button
· Click on the [Expr…] button
· Under where it says Expression, type CDOW(ENTRY_DT,3)
· Click [OK],[OK]
· Under “Subtotal Fields”, select Debit and Credit, or Amount if Debit and
Credit are netted
· Click [OK] to run the command
You’ll get a list of days, in alphabetical order, with the number of entry lines per
day. You can click on the blue underlined “Sat” and “Sun” to see all entry lines
prepared on those days of week.
To set a filter for a particular day of the week, again assuming your field is called
ENTRY_DT, type: CDOW(ENTRY_DT,3)=”Sun” and click the green checkmark
Use the same case sensitivity (e.g., Sun) as the example; copy / paste this
example to your filter and change the field name to match your data file’s Entry
date’s field name.
To set a filter for both Saturdays and Sundays, type:
· MATCH(CDOW(ENTRY_DT,3),”Sat”,”Sun”) and click the green
checkmark
Again, copy / paste, to ensure case sensitivity, and tailor this example.
To identify entries made on a holiday, or a day the entity is supposed to be closed
such as a company picnic, you will need to set a filter. For example, to set a filter
for entries made on Christmas Day, type:
· ENTRY_DT=`20051225` and click the green checkmark
As noted above, to depict a date, use the backwards quote from the [~] key and the
Year Month Day format. Specifically: `YYYYMMDD`. For example, `20050101` is
New Year Day, and `20051124` is Thanksgiving (USA).
There are many things you can run once a filter is set. For example, if you have a
filter, CDOW(ENTRY_DT,3)=”Sun”, to show all entries made on Sundays, you can
CLASSIFY on Username to get a concise list of people who prepared entries on a
Sunday. See previous test for how to classify on Username.
Page 38 of 52
C. Days With Posting Frequency Outside Expected Range
Audit Procedures Days With Posting Frequency Outside Expected Range
Audit Procedure Review days within the period under review for unusual patterns to identify journal
Description entries for further analysis.
Test Description This test identifies days during the period under review with few or many journal
entry postings.
Step by Step Starting with the Journal Entry File, you will summarize Journal Entry activity, by
Instructions using Journal Entry Number for each day of the period under review. Assume Journal
ACL Entry Number field is JE_NUM.
· Under Summarize On… Select JE_NUM field
· Under Other Fields… Select POST_DATE
· Select Output Tab
· Under Name, enter your output file name, such as “ENTRIES_BY_DATE”
· Click [OK]
· This will give you a new summarized file with one row per JE number, and
the Post Date. Now you will summarize this file to create a new
summarized file, indicating the number of entries per date.
To Summarize this file (Note- New ACL functionality allows summarizing on date
fields):
· Under Summarize On… Select POST_DATE
· Under Other Fields… Leave blank
· Select Output Tab
· Under Name, enter your output file name, such as
“ENTRY_COUNT_BY_DATE”
· Click [OK]
With a summarized file on POST_DATE, you will set a filter to limit the remainder
of this test to those entries posted to a weekday. To begin, set the following filter:
· DOW(POST_DATE) > 1 and DOW(POST_DATE) < 7
· Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· Under Statistics On, Select COUNT
· Click More tab
· Next to “# of High/Low” select 10
· Click [OK]
This will provide a list of the preliminary dates with the 10 lowest and highest
counts on a single date within the period under review. In order to identify which
dates are the lowest and highest, you will need to set a filter in the
ENTRY_COUNT_BY_DATE table for an amount less than, and then greater than,
the Count Amount results from the last result in the log. For example, if the 10th
lowest count was 15, then your filter would look like “Count <= 15”. Once you
Page 39 of 52
obtain the dates with the fewest entries posted, you can go back to the original
Journal Entry file, and isolate all entries for a given date, by setting a filter for each
date of interest as follows:
· POST_DATE = `20051125` and click the green checkmark
Note: The backwards single quote [ ` ] is located under the tilde key [ ~ ] on your
keyboard.
Page 40 of 52
3. Entries Recorded at the End of the Period or as Post-closing Entries that have
Little or No Explanation or Description
ACL step-by-step testing section: Entries Recorded at the End of the Period or as Post-closing
Entries that have Little or No Explanation or Description
A. Entries Posted Near the End of the Period Under Review or as Post-closing
Entries that Have Little or No Explanation or Description
Entries Posted Near the End of the Period Under Review or as Post-closing
Audit Procedures
Entries that have Little or No Explanation or Description
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries that have little or no journal entry descriptions posted near
Description the end of the period under review for further analysis.
Test Description Identifies transactions which were posted to the system (entered into the system)
near the end of the period under review, which have little or no description.
Step by Step Assuming your Post Date field is called POST_DATE; and your cut-off date (or last
Instructions using day of the period under review) is 12/31/2005; and you are interested in isolating
ACL those entries with a post date during the last 10 days of the year as well as booked
as post closing entries, follow the steps below:
1. ACL has a function called TRIM which removes spaces on the right. And,
another function called LENGTH which gives the number of characters used
within a field. Combined, you can find entries with little or no descriptions.
· Assuming the journal entry description field is called DESC, try setting a
filter:
· LENGTH(TRIM(DESC)) < 10 and click the green checkmark
· You will get entries with descriptions less than ten characters in length.
· LENGTH(TRIM(DESC)) < 1 and click the green checkmark
· Will get you entries with missing descriptions. As would DESC=” “.
2. For entries with short descriptions, or missing descriptions, near the end of the
period, try:
· LENGTH(TRIM(DESC)) < 10 and POST_DT > `20051220` and click
the green checkmark
keyboard.
This would look for descriptions less than 10 characters long in entries posted after
12/20/2005.
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B. Detailed Lines with Blank Journal Entry Descriptions
Audit Procedures Detail Lines with Blank Journal Entry Description
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries that have no or short journal entry descriptions for further
Description analysis.
Test Description All detail lines of an entry typically have a description. This test identifies those
entries without a sufficient description.
Step by Step Assuming the Journal Entry Description field is called “JE_DESCR”, and the
Instructions using Effective Date is called EFF_DT. In this example, the engagement team
ACL considered entries after December 15, 2005 to be “end of period”.
For end of period entries with missing descriptions, set a filter:
· JE_DESCR = “ ” and EFF_DT >= `20051215` and click the green
checkmark
For end of period entries with short (e.g., less than or equal to 5 characters)
descriptions, set a filter:
· Length(Trim(JE_DESCR)) <= 5 and EFF_DT >= `20051215` and click the
green checkmark
NOTE: In the two examples above, the quote used in depicting a date is the
backwards quote [`] from the tilde [~] key.
This will identify all end of period journal entry detail lines which contain blank or
short descriptions.
To identify a summarized list of Journal Entry Numbers,
· CLASSIFY on the JE Number field to identify all of the Journal Entry
numbers with a blank or short description
· Clicking on any particular journal entry number in the classify command’s
output will set a filter in ACL to display all detail lines for that journal entry.
Repeat the process of returning to the classify command’s output in the Log, and
clicking on specific entry numbers to display the contents of the journal entry.
Page 42 of 52
C. Differences Between Post and Effective Dates
Audit Procedures Differences Between Post and Effective Dates
Audit Procedure Examine the time lapse between post and effective dates to identify journal entries
Description that for further analysis.
Test Description Identifies large date differences between post and effective dates.
Step by Step If you have a field (column) representing Post or prepared date, called POST_DT
Instructions using and a field representing effective date called, EFF_DT, you can set a filter:
ACL
· POST_DT – EFF_DT > 30 to see the entries booking amounts to a prior
period
· Also, reverse it: EFF_DT – POST_DT > 30
Once the filter is set, any ACL command runs only on the data meeting the criteria.
For example, after setting the filter:
· Run Statistics on Debit and Credit to get total dollar impact where there is
a spread greater than 30 days
· Classify on Username and subtotal Debit and Credit to see who prepared
these entries with a spread greater than 30 days
You can also set a filter for “end of period” entries. To depict a date, use the
backwards quote from the [~] key and the Year Month Day format.
· Specifically: `YYYYMMDD`
· For example, if end of period is 12/31/05, and I want all entries for the last
10 days, and my post, or entry, date field is called POST_DT, the filter
would be POST_DT > `20051220`
· For last 10 days and Debits greater than $100,000, the filter would be
POST_DT > `20051220` and DEBIT > 100000. Or, try POST_DT >
`20051220` and CREDIT < -100000
The end of period filter can be coupled with a filter showing entries with a large gap
between post and effective dates, as follows:
· POST_DT – EFF_DT > 30 and POST_DT > `20051220`
performing further drill down analysis.. These procedures may include sorting by
Page 43 of 52
4. Entries Made Either Before or During the Preparation of the Financial Statements
that Do Not Have Account Numbers
ACL step-by-step testing section: Entries Made Either Before or During the Preparation of the
Financial Statements that Do Not Have Account Numbers
A. Entries Made to Accounts without an Account Number
Audit Procedures Entries Made to Accounts without an Account Number
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries without account numbers.

Description
Test Description You may have performed a test similar to this in the above section for Identification
of potential indicators of deficiencies in controls, in the test called: “JE Detail lines
with invalid Chart of Account information”. However, the following test will identify
accounts without an account number, in case the chart of accounts is unavailable.
Step by Step Assuming your Account field is called “ACCT”. Set a filter ACCT=” “ and you will
Instructions using see all entry lines with blank account numbers.
ACL
Page 44 of 52
5. Entries Containing Round Numbers or Consistent Ending Numbers
ACL step-by-step testing section: Entries Containing Round Numbers or Consistent Ending
Numbers
A. Specific Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedures Specific Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries posted with specific dollar amounts for further analysis.
Description
Test Description Identifies entries with specific dollar amounts, thousands, millions, etc.
Step by Step Filter the data to identify specific numbers. If you have a field called AMOUNT which
Instructions using is the net of Debits and Credits, where Debits are positive and Credits are negative,
ACL type the following in your filter:
· match(abs(AMOUNT),1000,5000,10000,25000,50000,100000)
The ABS function wrapped around Amount will pull these specific positive and
negative numbers. You can create a field which nets Debit and Credit fields into a
single Amount field. Steps to do so are located above in the Balancing Check test
within the Reconciliation section.
If you have separate Debit and Credit fields, set filters for:
· match(DEBIT,1000, 5000,10000,25000,50000,100000)
and,
· match(CREDIT,1000, 5000,10000,25000,50000,100000)
Note: the steps documented above include specific round dollar amounts. Use your
professional judgment in defining the dollar amounts to be tested.
dollar amount, filtering on account number, stratifying by date, or classifying on user
based on specific areas of audit interest and judgment. These additional procedures
may identify specific journal entries exhibiting characteristics of interest to be
selected for detail testing.
Page 45 of 52
B. Frequently Used Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedures Frequently Used Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries posted with similar dollar amounts for further analysis.
Description
Test Description To identify amounts that are used more often than other amounts.
Step by Step To perform this test:

Instructions using
ACL · Click on Analyze / Look for Duplicates
· Under [Sequence on], click on your Amount, Debit, or Credit fields
· Only click on one, and repeat this process for other fields, e.g., Credit after
completing this test for Debits. Click the button [List Fields…],
· Go to the “Output” tab and put DUP_JE_DEBIT next to [Name] and click
[OK]
You will create a new Table in ACL called DUP_JE_DEBIT which will contain all
journal entry lines with duplicate Debit amounts. After you click OK, the new table
will be created but will not open on its own, the log will appear on your screen,
indicating the command had been executed. To access the newly created table,
click on the “Overview” tab in the lower-left corner of your screen, and double-click
the DUP_JE_DEBIT table located in the Navigator menu on the left.
This file may be huge with small amounts like $100 in large quantities. You will
need to set filters such as DEBIT > 1000, with higher amounts, in order to see
larger duplicating amounts. The process of looking for duplicates involves a pre-
sort. A benefit of this process is that large repeating amounts are clearly visible
next to each other.
You will probably want to sort your data (e.g., by amount, entry number, or
username) in order to gain better visibility over duplicates. In ACL, you use the
INDEX command for sorting data:
· Data / Create index…
· Next to “Index on…”, click the field(s) you want the data to be sorted by
· Next to “To:”, name the index. Name it after the field you used; like
“by_JENO_AND_AMOUNT”
· Note, the check by “use output table” will launch you into the sorted view
upon completion of the index command
· Click [OK]
In the upper right of the screen, you will see “by_JENO_AND_AMOUNT” under
“Index”. There is a drop-down arrow. You can switch between indexes in order to
switch amongst sorted views. And, selecting (none) lets you view the data
unsorted.
Another test is to Summarize on your “Amount” field in order to identify the most
commonly used Dollar amounts. The Summarize command will produce a list of
every “Amount” encountered, along with a field called “Count” which indicates the
number of times that amount occurred. Obviously, small round amounts like $100
will appear many times and may not be related to one-another, or an indication of
anything abnormal. However, when looking at higher values in the “Count” coupled
with larger amounts, you should investigate those items further.
Page 46 of 52
The first step is to create a new Amount field, converting it to a text format, as the
summarize command will only work on a text or character type field.

· Under “Name”, enter AMOUNT_TEXT
· Under “Default Value”, Enter string(AMOUNT,15)
· Click the green checkmark to create the AMOUNT_TEXT field.
· Click the “Add column” icon… to add AMOUNT_TEXT, your newly

created text version of the Amount, to your view
Next, Summarize on “AMOUNT_TEXT”. in order to obtain a file with one row per
unique “Amount”, coupled with a field called “Count” containing the number of
occurrences.
Click on Analyze / Summarize
· On the “Main” tab, select the AMOUNT_TEXT field under [Summarize on],
· Select the Amount field under [Other Fields]
· Do nothing with [Subtotal Fields]
· Go to the “Output” tab and type DUP_AMOUNT_SUMM next to [Name]
· Click [OK]
This process will create a new Table in ACL called DUP_AMOUNT_SUMM which
will contain one row for each dollar amount. A new field called “Count” indicates
the number of occurrences an individual Dollar Amount was used within the journal
entry file. Review the count column for high numbers. You can perform a Quick
Sort, Descending, on the Count column and the Amount column to identify the
dollar amounts with a higher propensity of usage. Also, you can use filtering
techniques to search for high-Count and high-Amount combinations. For example:
· COUNT > 5 and AMOUNT > 25000 and click the green checkmark
Let’s say, for example, the amount $53,333.33 occurred 9 times. The next step
would be to switch back to the journal entry detail file and set a filter:
· AMOUNT= 53333.33 and click the green checkmark
You will then see all 9 lines of detail.
Page 47 of 52
C. Benford’s Law
Audit Procedures Benford’s Law
Audit Procedure Identify journal entries journal entries with unusual amounts based on Benford
Description Analysis. Flag journal entries that may be higher risk for potential future selection
and investigation.
Test Description Benford's Law, also called the first-digits law (can be applied on multiple leading
digits), states that in lists of numbers from many real-life sources of data, the
leading 2 digits occur much more often than the others (namely about 30% of the
time). Furthermore, the higher the digit, the less likely it is to occur as the leading 2
digits of a number. This applies to figures related to the natural world or of social
significance; be it numbers taken from electricity bills, newspaper articles, street
addresses, stock prices, population numbers, or mathematical constants. This test
attempts to identify amounts which are skewed due to an attempt to circumvent an
unnatural restriction (e.g. a control limiting the size of an entry due to an
employee’s signing authority).
Step by Step To identify amounts which have occurrences greater than Benford’s law would
Instructions using expect:
ACL
· Click on Analyze / Perform Benford Analysis
· Select the field you want to perform Benford’s Law on
For example, Debit or Credit, or a netted field like Amount
· Enter 2 for the number of leading digits
· Click to include upper and lower bounds, then click [OK]
To set a filter which displays individual spikes for 2-leading-digit combinations,
observe the actual and expected values. Note higher than expected 2-leading-digit
combinations. In the Log, you have the option of viewing the Actual vs. Expected
frequency of counts for each combination of leading digits, or you can see a graph,
presenting the actual frequency as compared to an expected frequency curve.
Either method of viewing the output of the Benford Command allows you to set a
filter displaying all entry lines with those selected leading digits. Clicking on the
blue-underlined value in the list, or clicking on an apparent spike in the graph, will
set the corresponding filter. The actual filter which gets created uses the leading
function. Assuming, your selected 2-leading-digit combination of interest are “71”
and “35”. By clicking on the blue, underlined 71 in the Benford Command output,
the filter, LEADING(Amount,2)=”71” gets set. After analyzing the items in your
main view, the “71” can be changed to “35” and after clicking the green
checkmark, all amounts beginning with “35” will be displayed.
Once a Filter has been set for a leading digits value, you can always do a Quick
Sort on the Amount field to identify the larger dollar amounts with those leading
digits.
Page 48 of 52
D. Entries With Recurring Ending Digits, Including Round Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedures Entries With Recurring Ending Digits, Including Round Dollar Amounts
Audit Procedure Entry lines with recurring ending digits are considered for journal entry testing
Description selections.
Test Description Identifies entries where the amount has recurring ending digits.
Step by Step To identify recurring ending numbers, here is a function that you can Copy / Paste /
Instructions using Tailor in your filter (assuming you have a field called AMOUNT which is the net of
ACL Debits and Credits, where Debits are positive and Credits are negative):
· last(str(round(AMOUNT),15),4)=”3333”
or,
or,
or,
or,
Identifies all amounts ending in 0,000, 000, 3,333, 3,334 or 6,667 which imply
factors of 3 (thirds).
Instructional note: The “Last” function looks at the last n digits in Amount and
compares it to the criteria in quotes. You can change the number of digits. For
example:
Identifies amounts with 3333 in the last 4 digits of the Amount.
Identifies amounts with 00 in the last 2 digits of the Amount.
Page 49 of 52
6. Accounting Estimates
ACL step-by-step testing section: Accounting Estimates
A. Management Estimates
Audit Procedures Management Estimates
Audit Procedure Analyzing trends in account balances involving management estimates to identify
Description potential bias (a form of management override of controls). This analysis can be
used in conjunction with other procedures.
Test Description Identifies entries made near the end of the period to accounts which have
balances related to management estimates (e.g., allowances and accruals).
Step by Step Assume the Management Estimate accounts of interest have an account number
Instructions using range of “21000 - 21049”; your Post Date field is called POST_DATE; account
ACL number field is called ACCT_NO ; and your cut-off date (or last day of the period
under review) is 12/31/2005. Additionally, assume you are interested in isolating
those entries with a post date during the last 10 days of the year as well as booked
as post closing entries. Note: for this test, you must obtain data for the month
subsequent to the period being audited.
Set the following filter:
· Between(ACCT_NO, “21000”, “21049”) and POST_DT > `20051220` and
click the Green Checkmark
keyboard. This will identify the detail lines posting activity to the management
estimate account during the last 10 days of the period under review, and during
post-closing adjustments.
Now, to identify the largest and smallest entries, run statistics, and then Stratify on
the amounts, using the results from Statistics as your range for Stratifying.
Assuming you have a single column for Amount:
· Analyze / Statistical / Statistics
· Select AMOUNT
Based on your results, indicating the highest 5 and lowest 5 amounts, you can
determine the amounts to use in your stratification.
· Analyze / Stratify
· Under Stratify On; select AMOUNT
· Under Minimum, insert a round dollar amount near the lowest amount you
determined in using Statistics. Do the same for Maximum.
· Next to Intervals, set a range that will provide you with a fair amount of
breakout groupings, once Stratify is run. (you may need to run Stratify
several times to hone in on a good Interval number. Also, consider
skewing your Min and Max range around the Average amount result you
obtained from running Statistics, as that will give you a higher likelihood of
isolating outliers to a single stratification bucket. Still use even numbers to
depict Stratify command ranges.
· Click [OK]
You now can see the dollar range of entries, and quantity of entries booked within
each dollar range, in order to identify potentially large entries that may have
Page 50 of 52
booked near the close of the period under review. Note: If your results have 10
intervals, but no activity between the top bucket and smallest bucket, you may
need to change your Min and Max values, or the number of Intervals.
Page 51 of 52
VI. Selecting Journal Entries for Detailed Testing
As a result of reconciling to the trial balance, performing procedures around identification of potential
indicators of deficiencies in controls and performing journal entry analyses, you may identify items that
display characteristics of interest. The engagement team reviews the analyses and makes selections based
on the outcome of the analyses. These two forms: Documentation of Journal Entry Testing can be used to
document selections made and the results of detailed testing.
The process for documenting your procedures and results of your tests will vary depending on the tests which
are used. For Journal Entry Testing Using ACL, you can copy and paste results from ACL's log into the
working paper that you create for documenting journal entry testing. Data can also be exported from ACL to
Excel where it can be imported to our system. Refer to The Manual, Prepare and Control Audit Documentation,
P020 and Review of Audit Documentation, P040 for documentation policies.
Page 52 of 52

Best Practices ACL Step-by-Step Instructions For Journal Entry Testing

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ACL Step-by-Step Instructions for Journal Entry Testing

This document provides step-by-step instructions for the following sections:

I. Preliminary Steps ................................................................................................................................................. 4

C. Benford’s Law ..................................................................................................................................... 48

1. Obtaining entity data – available guidelines and work aids:

ACL step-by-step instructions are provided for the following:

ACL step-by-step testing section: RECONCILIATION

Audit Procedures Balancing Check

Square with a green “+”:

· Set a filter: Amount <> 0 to prepare a listing of Journal Entries that do

ACL step-by-step testing section: RECONCILIATION

Audit Procedures Reconciliation

netted amount, the calculation would be BEGBAL+AMOUNT. If credits are in a

ACL step-by-step testing section: RECONCILIATION

C. Segregation of Standard and Non-Standard Entries

Audit Procedures Segregation of Standard and Non-Standard Entries

Audit Procedure Identify standard and non-standard journal entries.

Step by Step Example 1:

· Set a filter, SOURCE <> “ “ and click the green checkmark

ACL step-by-step testing section: RECONCILIATION

Audit Procedures Exclusions

· Click Data / Extract data

III. Population Summary

ACL step-by-step testing section: Population Summary

A. Population Statistics Overview

Audit Procedures Population Statistics Overview

IV. Identification of Potential Indicators of Deficiencies in Internal

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

A. Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts

Audit Procedures Regular Clearing of Suspense Accounts

· Under “Subtotal Fields” click to select DEBIT and CREDIT

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

B. User Authorization Control Indicators

Audit Procedures User Authorization Control Indicators

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

C. Journal Entry Detail Lines With Invalid Chart Of Account Information

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

D. Duplicate Detail Lines

Audit Procedures Duplicate Detail Lines

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

E. Detail Lines With An Effective Date Outside The Test Period

Audit Procedure Confirm entries related to period under audit.

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

F. Detail Lines With An Invalid Post Date

Audit Procedures Detail Lines With An Invalid Post Date

Audit Procedure Confirm entry post dates are valid

Step by Step As noted earlier, for date cutoff testing:

ACL step-by-step testing section: Controls

G. Search For Related Party Transactions In The General Ledger

Audit Procedure Management must approve all related-party transactions. Higher-level

V. Journal Entry Analysis Tests

1. Entries made to unusual, unrelated, or seldom-used accounts

1. Entries made to unrelated, unusual, or seldom used account

A. Seldom Used Accounts

Audit Procedures Seldom Used Accounts

Step by Step How to perform the test using ACL:

B. Large Journal Entry Detail Lines by Account

Audit Procedures Large Journal Entry Detail Lines by Account

· Click the “Add expression” icon…

· Click the “Add column” icon…

· Click the “Add expression” icon…

· Click the “Add column” icon… Don’t forget to add ABS_AMOUNT