AUDITING AND ASSURANCE: SPECIALIZED INDUSTRIES

AUDIT OF AGRICULTURAL SECTOR EXAMINATION REVIEWER

Topic Outline
I. Introduction
II. Chapter 1 : Sustainable agriculture and food production
a. What is sustainable agriculture and food production?
b. What are the common types of agriculture?
c. Trends, challenges and prospects for agriculture and food production
d. How can a country feed its population well?
i. Nutrition
ii. Food Safety
e. Prospects for agriculture and food production in the age of Sustainable
f. Agriculture and Food Production in a resource management perspective
g. Drivers in relation to agriculture and food production
i. Population growth
ii. Migration
iii. Economic growth
iv. Technology
h. Pressures in relation to food and agriculture
i. Urbanisation
ii. Socio-economic development
iii. Resource extraction
i. Altered states of environment due to agricultural activities and food production
i. Land use change
ii. Deforestation
iii. Water degradation
j. Impacts of agricultural activities and food production
i. Land conflict
ii. Climate change
iii. Biodiversity Loss
iv. Food shortages
v. Soil contamination
III. Chapter 2 : Choosing and designing audits of agriculture and food production
a. Understanding the agriculture and food production sector
i. Geography
ii. Macro-economy
iii. Demography
iv. Understanding the value chain
b. Mapping of the governance of agriculture and food production and identification
of stakeholders
i. What are the key instruments to ensure food security and sustainable
agriculture
ii. Who are the key players in the agriculture sector
c. Selecting audit topics and priorities through risk analysis
i. Ensure food security and in some cases self-sufficiency
ii. Improve agricultural productivity and contribute to rural development
iii. Selecting the audit approach and topic
d. Designing the audit
i. Researchable Questions
ii. Criteria an Information Required and Sources
iii. Scope and Methodology, Including Data Reliability
iv. Limitations
IV. Chapter 3 : Audit Experiences, good practices and methodology
a. Auditing food security
b. Auditing Food Safety Systems
c. Auditing Food production and SDGs
d. Auditing agricultural development programmes
i. Auditing Rural Development Programmes
ii. Auditing programmes to improve agricultural productivity
 iii. Methodology-Verify the efficiency of the programme through surveying
target groups
e. SAIs auditing external funding by agricultural development
f. Auditing the environmental impact of agricultural activities
i. Forest protection in relation to agriculture
ii. Impact of use of chemical substance on soil and water
iii. Biodiversity-Government efforts to conserve species and resources
iv. Methodology – The finding matrix as a tool for analysing audit findings
V. Appendix 1: Case Studies
a. AUDIT CASE: US GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
i. Audit Case 1: BEE HEALTH: USDA and EPA Should Take Additional
Actions to Address Threats to Bee Populations (GAO-16-220)
ii. Audit Case 2 : FOOD SAFETY AND NUTRITION: FDA Can Build on
Existing Efforts to Measure Progress and Implement Key Activities (GAO-
18-174)
b. AUDIT CASE SUPREME AUDIT ORGANISATION CZECH REPUBLIC
i. Title of the Audit: Funds spent on the projects of the Rural Development
Programme
c. AUDIT CASE SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTION OF ECUADOR
i. Title of the audit.: Audit of environmental aspects to the Preparation of the
National Government, for the implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG), in the complete form regarding the
conformation of the Government Centre and in the specific manner for
Goal 4 of Objective 2, regarding sustainable food production systems;
Based on the components of governance and public policies, a burden of
the National Secretariat of Planning and Design (SENPLADES) and other
State entities, for the period between September 25, 2015 and June 30,
2017
d. AUDIT CASE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE OF CHINA
i. Title of Audit: Audit to Promote Accurate Identification of Poverty with
Multi-dimensional Big Data Analysis (Case Study of Audit over
Implementation of Poverty Alleviation Policies and Measures)
e. AUDIT CASE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE OF ESTONIA
i. Title of the Audit State activities in securing food safety
VI. Appendix II
a. How to identify the elements, conditions or variables associated with each phase
of the Production Chain
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
1. People must be able to regularly acquire adequate quantities of food, through purchase, home
production, barter, gifts, borrowing or food aid.
A. Food Utilization
B. Food Access
C. Food Availability
D. Food Panda
2. I. Food production locally or on country-level serves to feed an ever-growing population.
II. The World Food Programme is a major international actor working to deliver food assistance
in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
A. Statement I is true
B. Statement II is False
C. I and II correct
D. None of the above
3. It entails cooking, storage and hygiene practices, individuals ‘health, water and sanitations,
feeding and sharing practices within the household.
A. Food Utilization
B. Food Panda
C. Food Access
D. Food Availability
4. Ensuring food safety is important to the entire production and consumption chain, and producers
and distributors need to work together, to eliminate or minimize the risk to health insufficient food
safety poses.
A. The Statement is True
B. The Statement is False
C. All of the above
D. None of the above
5. What are the two distinct areas of agriculture and food production that merits a closer look, to
respond to how countries can feed their population well.
A. Product and Vitamins
B. Nutrition and Food Safety
C. Diet and Exercise
D. Junkfoods
6. __________ is usually caused by economic changes or conflicts, but to a larger degree also
caused by inability to stay in previously populated due to environmental impacts, such as climate
changes causing equally physical hinders and unsafety.
A. Migration
B. Technology
C. Economic growth
D. Urbanisation
7. Food and agriculture sectors contribute substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture
contributes the largest share of global methane and nitrous oxide emissions. What impacts of
agricultural activities and food production does this relate?
A. Land Conflict
B. Climate Change
C. Biodiversity Loss
D. Food Shortages
8. Over the past ten years, the number of violent conflicts around the world has increased
significantly, in particular in countries already facing food insecurity, hitting rural communities the
hardest and having a negative impact on food production and availability. What impacts of
agricultural activities and food production does this relate?
A. Climate Change
B. Biodiversity Loss
C. Food Shortages
D. Soil Contamination
9. As we have seen an agro-ecosystems rely on many functions of the ecosystem we find naturally.
Biodiversity also includes all these components, in specific, animal, plants, micro- organisms,
species and the genetic make-up of these. What impacts of agricultural activities and food
production does this relate?
A. Climate Change
B. Biodiversity Loss
C. Food Shortages
 D. Soil Contamination
10. Globally it is reported that 33 percent of the world farmland is moderately to highly degraded.
Additional land is also not available for expansion of agricultural area given that the additional
land available is not suitable for agriculture. What impacts of agricultural activities and food
production does this relate?
A. Land Conflict
B. Climate Change
C. Biodiversity Loss
D. Soil Contamination
11. Give 3 main crops of High Guinenan Savannah?
 Possible answers: : Maize, cotton, millet, sorghum, ground nut, yam, potato
12. Which of the following information audit team provide?
I. Researchable Question(s)
II. Criteria and Information Required and Source(s)
III. Scope and Methodology, Including Data Reliability
IV. Limitations
V. What This Analysis will likely allow the SAI to say
A. Only I and II
B. I, I, II, and IV
C. III, IV, andV
D. I, II, III, IV, and V
13. Which statement is NOT correct?
A. Auditing food security normally involves assessing strategies for food security, their
legal foundation and how these translate into actual policies.
B. Auditing food security policies requires the auditors to understand the country’s
preconditions for being food secure.
C. A food security plan that meets the needs of the population may or may not
require an implementation scheme.
D. Food security entails making enough food available and ensuring the population access
to this food.
14. It control measures to ensure the hygiene and product safety of the commodities produced is
allocated to regional local government entities such as regional boards and municipalities.
A. Vignette Survey Method
B. Central Ministry
C. Decentralized System
D. Control System
15. These are all the process of preparing and conducting a vignette survey, except?
A. Distribution
B. Quantity Control
C. Design Vignette
D. Quality Control
16. An auditor should consider the existence of a well-defined suitable application system including
the following except;
A. Compliance with the requirements of central regulations
B. Appropriate project evaluation criteria
C. Correct project ranking;
D. Compliance with the SEC requirements
17. Obtain reasonable assurance of the whether financial statements as a whole are free from
material misstatements, and prepared in accordance with applicable financial framework, include
the following except:
A. Verifying appropriate Asset declaration under the programme, including receivables
B. Assess if all contributions to implementation of a programme have been disclosed
C. Confirm whether government’s counterparts have been paid
D. Verifying if payments are accompanied by re-computation
18. The audit team must describe CONDITION in the findings matrix and in the audit report to
support recommendation as.
A. what the audit found; the situation that exists
B. the standards for what should be
C. the explanation of why the condition deviates (if it does) from the criteria.
D. the actual or potential consequences of allowing the condition to persist.
 19. The main objective of this programme was to increase the involvement of SAIs in auditing
externally aided projects in agriculture and food security sector, by supporting SAIs in enhancing
their capacity and performance in conducting such audits.
A. Rural Development Programmes
B. The World Food Programme
C. Audit of externally funded programmes on agriculture
D. Educational programmes
20. In the case of forest management, what characterized the integration on conservation efforts in
agricultural polices?
A. Goal Development
B. Agricultural uncertainties
C. Agricultural practices
D. Goal conflicts
21. For many SAIs, _________and _________would be the possible approach, to give assurance of
the financial reporting, and compliance with legislation and regulation.
A. conducting financial and compliance audits
B. Monitoring and evaluation of the plan
C. adequate monitoring and analysis of development
D. Monitoring and mitigation
22. SAIs It is a responsibility often placed under entities governing agriculture and use of natural
resource, while conservation lies with the ministry of environment.
A. Management of forest resources
B. Forest protection
C. Agricultural policy
D. Ministry of Agriculture
23. Urbanization have major implications on the following except:
A. patterns of agricultural production
B. land tenure
C. political parties
D. composition of the rural labour force
24. Which of the following impacts agricultural activities and food production?
A. Biodiversity loss
B. Food shortages
C. Soil contamination
D. All of the above
25. Which of the following are issues that are especially visible and could be considered in audits of
agriculture and food protection?
A. Lack of monitoring data
B. Increased risks of misuse of funds
C. Complex systems
D. All of the above
26. Is genetic engineering (GE) the only way of increasing food production?
A. Maybe
B. Yes
C. No
27. What should farmers do to prepare for adverse climate trends?
A. Significant improvements in food security
B. Late planning on productivity boost
C. Soil infertility
D. No future enhancing of diversification

TRUE OR FALSE QUESTIONS:

28. Forests influence the amount of water available and the timing of water delivery.
 TRUE
 FALSE
29. Harvesting includes the concentration of primary production and the proper management of it,
for its subsequent commercialization, consumption or industrialization.
 TRUE
 FALSE
30. Irrigation represents the main use of water in agriculture and one of the main uses of water
resources in general.
 TRUE
  FALSE
31. Land degradation, deforestation and water scarcities are among the most visible manifestations
of this unsustainable competition.
 TRUE
 FALSE
32. Climate change will not affect every aspect of food production.
 TRUE
 FALSE – will affect
33. FAO considers land degradation is an impediment to realising food security and reducing
hunger.
 TRUE
 FALSE
34. The first step for auditors that want to conduct an audit in the agriculture and food production
sector is to research and gather appropriate knowledge about the sector.
 TRUE
 FALSE
35. Population growth is a driver and demographic patterns such as rural or a small young
population affect agricultural practices as well as consumer trends and nutritional needs.\
 TRUE
 FALSE
36. The concept of the production chain arose in the 1950s and was established by Filière, who
defined the "chain of basic products"
 TRUE
 FALSE
37. New tools for better farming techniques, research and develop crop types that are resilient and
produces a larger yield at a better quality is research and technology.
 TRUE
 FALSE (development)
38. Food production and agriculture activities is the source of nutrition as well as income.
 TRUE
 FALSE
39. Ministry of Commerce plays a key role in marketing and stabilizing prices of cash crops such as
cocoa, coffee, etc. This ministry also builds warehouses and agricultural market.
 TRUE
 FALSE
40. The Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) is responsible for zoo
industries.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE (livestock, fisheries and animal)
41. Subsidies are intended to spur or maintain new practices, often in the form of project funds
targets group can apply for.
 TRUE
 FALSE
42. Food security does not require government to have in place a policy for the current situation,
plan for crises, as well as a plan for future needs.
 TRUE
 FALSE
43. For auditors evaluating the sufficiency of existing measures is therefore key to uncovering risks
to efficiency and effectiveness.
 TRUE
 FALSE
44. Assessing the sufficiency of the measures, the actual systems in place should be considered.
 TRUE
 FALSE
45. When carrying out audits of agriculture and food production, one cannot assess both
performance and compliance components.
 TRUE
 FALSE
46. Training and guidance is equally important in investment schemes.
 TRUE
  FALSE
47. In designing the audit, the first thing we need to know is what we want to achieve with the audit
and that is to formulate the audit objective.
 TRUE
 FALSE
48. When we come up with researchable question, we should not define audit criteria in each
question, and we do not need to identify the information that we need.
 TRUE
 FALSE
49. Design matrix provides background information and context on the audit.
 TRUE
 FALSE
50. Matrix is not a tool that describes, among things, the methodological tools needed to achieve
objectives.
 TRUE
 FALSE