1 AUDIT EVIDENCE – SPECIFIC

CONSIDERATIONS

FRANCIS H. VILLAMIN
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SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS

• Inventory
• Confirmation of Receivables
• Litigations, Claims and Assessments
• Valuation of Long Term Investments
• Segment Information
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SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS
• Existence and condition of inventory;
• Completeness of litigation and claims involving
the entity; and
• Presentation and disclosure of segment
information in accordance with the applicable
financial reporting framework.
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ATTENDANCE TO A PHYSICAL
INVENTORY COUNT
a) Evaluate management’s instructions and procedures
for recording and controlling the results of the
entity’s physical inventory counting;
b) Observe the performance of management’s count
procedures;
c) Inspect the inventory; and
d) Perform test counts.
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AFTER INVENTORY COUNT

• Performing audit procedures over the entity’s

final inventory records to determine whether
they accurately reflect actual inventory count
results.
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UNABLE TO ATTEND TO
PHYSICAL INVENTORY
COUNT
• If the auditor is unable to attend physical inventory
counting due to unforeseen circumstances, the
auditor shall make or observe some physical
counts on an alternative date, and perform
audit procedures on intervening transactions.
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ATTENDANCE IS
IMPRACTICABLE
• If attendance at physical inventory counting is
impracticable, the auditor shall perform
alternative audit procedures to obtain sufficient
appropriate audit evidence regarding the existence
and condition of inventory. If it is not possible to do
so, the auditor shall modify the opinion in the
auditor’s report in accordance with PSA 705
(Revised). Qualified or Disclaimer
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INVENTORY IS UNDER
CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF A
THIRD PARTY
• The auditor shall obtain sufficient appropriate audit
evidence regarding the existence and condition of
that inventory by performing one or both of the
following:
➢Request confirmation from the third party as to the
quantities and condition of inventory held on behalf
of the entity.
➢Perform inspection or other audit procedures
appropriate in the circumstances.
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LITIGATIONS AND CLAIMS

• The auditor shall design and perform audit
procedures in order to identify litigation and
claims involving the entity which may give
rise to a risk of material misstatement,
including
➢Inquiry of management and, where applicable,
others within the entity, including in-house legal
counsel;
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LITIGATIONS AND CLAIMS

➢ Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged
with governance and correspondence between
the entity and its external legal counsel; and
➢ Reviewing legal expense accounts.
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LITIGATIONS AND CLAIMS

• If the auditor assesses a risk of material
misstatement regarding litigation or claims that
have been identified, or when audit procedures
performed indicate that other material litigation or
claims may exist, the auditor shall, in addition to the
procedures required by other PSAs, seek direct
communication with the entity’s external
legal counsel.
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LITIGATIONS AND CLAIMS

• The auditor shall do so through a letter of
inquiry, prepared by management and
sent by the auditor, requesting the entity’s
external legal counsel to communicate
directly with the auditor.
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LEGAL LETTER
• A list of litigation and claims.
• Management’s assessment of the outcome of the
litigation or claim and its estimate of the financial
implications, including costs involved.
• A request that the lawyer confirms the reasonableness
of management’s assessments and provides the auditor
with further information if the list is considered by the
lawyer to be incomplete or incorrect.
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DATE OF LEGAL LETTER

• The auditor considers the status of legal
matters up to the date of the audit
report. In some instances, the auditor may
need to obtain updated information from
lawyers.
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MODIFIED OPINION
If:
• Management refuses to give the auditor permission to
communicate or meet with the entity’s external legal
counsel, or the entity’s external legal counsel refuses
to respond appropriately to the letter of inquiry, or is
prohibited from responding; and
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MODIFIED OPINION
If:
• The auditor is unable to obtain sufficient appropriate
audit evidence by performing alternative audit
procedures,

The auditor shall modify the opinion in the auditor’s

report in accordance with PSA 705 (Revised).

Qualified or Disclaimer of Opinion

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WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS
• The auditor shall request management and, where
appropriate, those charged with governance to provide
written representations that all known actual or
possible litigation and claims whose effects should be
considered when preparing the financial statements have
been disclosed to the auditor and accounted for and
disclosed in accordance with the applicable financial
reporting framework.
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LONG TERM INVESTMENTS

• The auditor should obtain sufficient

appropriate audit evidence regarding their
valuation and disclosure.
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LONG TERM INVESTMENTS

• Audit procedures regarding long-term investments

ordinarily include considering evidence as to
whether the entity has the ability to continue to hold
the investments on a long term basis and discussing
with management whether the entity will continue
to hold the investments as long-term investments
and obtaining written representations to that
effect.
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LONG TERM INVESTMENTS

• Other procedures would ordinarily include

considering related financial statements and
other information, such as market quotations,
which provide an indication of value and
comparing such values to the carrying amount of
the investments up to the date of the auditor’s
report.
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SEGMENT INFORMATION
• The auditor shall obtain sufficient appropriate
audit evidence regarding the presentation and
disclosure of segment information in accordance
with the applicable financial reporting framework
by
➢ Obtaining an understanding of the methods
used by management in determining segment
information
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SEGMENT INFORMATION
➢ Obtaining an understanding of the methods
used by management in determining segment
information
1. Evaluating whether such methods are likely to result
in disclosure in accordance with the applicable
financial reporting framework; and
2. Where appropriate, testing the application of such
methods
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SEGMENT INFORMATION
➢ Performing analytical procedures or other
audit procedures appropriate in the
circumstances.
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PSA 505 - CONFIRMATIONS

• The objective of the auditor, when using
external confirmation procedures, is to
design and perform such procedures to
obtain relevant and reliable audit
evidence.
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RELEVANT TERMINOLOGIES

• External confirmation – Audit evidence obtained as a

direct written response to the auditor from a third party (the
confirming party), in paper form, or by electronic or other
medium.
• Positive confirmation request – A request that the
confirming party respond directly to the auditor indicating
whether the confirming party agrees or disagrees with the
information in the request, or providing the requested
information.
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RELEVANT TERMINOLOGIES

• Negative confirmation request – A request that the

confirming party respond directly to the auditor only if the
confirming party disagrees with the information provided in
the request.
• Non-response – A failure of the confirming party to
respond, or fully respond, to a positive confirmation
request, or a confirmation request returned undelivered.
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RELEVANT TERMINOLOGIES

• Exception – A response that indicates a difference

between information requested to be confirmed, or
contained in the entity’s records, and information provided
by the confirming party.
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EXTENT OF USE OF
EXTERNAL CONFIRMATIONS

• In deciding to what extent to use external

confirmations the auditor considers the
characteristics of the environment in which
the entity being audited operates and the practice
of potential respondents in dealing with
requests for direct confirmation.
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FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN
DESIGNING CONFIRMATION
REQUESTS
• The assertions being addressed.
• Specific identified risks of material misstatement,
including fraud risks.
• The layout and presentation of the confirmation
request.
• Prior experience on the audit or similar engagements.
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FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN
DESIGNING CONFIRMATION
REQUESTS
• The method of communication (for example, in paper
form, or by electronic or other medium).
• Management’s authorization or encouragement to the
confirming parties to respond to the auditor. Confirming
parties may only be willing to respond to a confirmation
request containing management’s authorization.
• The ability of the intended confirming party to confirm
or provide the requested information (for example,
individual invoice amount versus total balance).
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POSITIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST
• A positive external confirmation request asks the
confirming party to reply to the auditor in all cases,
either by indicating the confirming party’s agreement
with the given information, or by asking the confirming
party to provide information. A response to a positive
confirmation request ordinarily is expected to provide
reliable audit evidence. There is a risk, however, that
a confirming party may reply to the confirmation
request without verifying that the information is
correct.
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POSITIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST
• The auditor may reduce this risk by using positive
confirmation requests that do not state the amount (or
other information) on the confirmation request, and ask
the confirming party to fill in the amount or furnish
other information. on the other hand, use of this type of
“blank” confirmation request may result in lower
response rates because additional effort is required of
the confirming parties.
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NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST

• Negative confirmations provide less persuasive

audit evidence than positive confirmations.
Accordingly, the auditor shall not use negative
confirmation requests as the sole substantive
audit procedure to address an assessed risk
of material misstatement at the assertion level
unless all of the following are present:
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NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST
• The auditor has assessed the risk of material
misstatement as low and has obtained sufficient
appropriate audit evidence regarding the operating
effectiveness of controls relevant to the assertion;
• The population of items subject to negative
confirmation procedures comprises a large number of
small, homogeneous account balances, transactions or
conditions;
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NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST
• A very low exception rate is expected; and
• The auditor is not aware of circumstances or
conditions that would cause recipients of negative
confirmation requests to disregard such requests
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NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION
REQUEST
• The auditor shall evaluate whether the results
of the external confirmation procedures
provide relevant and reliable audit evidence,
or whether further audit evidence is
necessary.
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EXTERNAL CONFIRMATION
PROCEDURES
When using external confirmation procedures, the auditor shall
maintain control over external confirmation requests, including:
• Determining the information to be confirmed or requested
• Selecting the appropriate confirming party;
• Designing the confirmation requests, including determining that
requests are properly addressed and contain return
information for responses to be sent directly to the auditor;
and
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EXTERNAL CONFIRMATION
PROCEDURES
• Sending the requests, including follow-up requests when
applicable to confirming party.
 MANAGEMENT’S REFUSAL TO
39
ALLOW AUDITOR TO SEND
CONFIRMATION REQUEST

• Inquire as to management’s reasons for the refusal, and

seek audit evidence as to their validity and
reasonableness;
• Evaluate the implications of management’s refusal on the
auditor’s assessment of the relevant risks of material
misstatement, including the risk of fraud, and on the
nature, timing and extent of other audit procedures;
 MANAGEMENT’S REFUSAL TO
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ALLOW AUDITOR TO SEND
CONFIRMATION REQUEST

• Perform alternative audit procedures designed to obtain

relevant and reliable audit evidence.
 MANAGEMENT’S REFUSAL TO
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ALLOW AUDITOR TO SEND
CONFIRMATION REQUEST

• If the auditor concludes that management’s refusal to allow

the auditor to send a confirmation request is unreasonable,
or the auditor is unable to obtain relevant and reliable audit
evidence from alternative audit procedures, the auditor shall
communicate with those charged with governance in
accordance with PSA 260 (Revised). The auditor also shall
determine the implications for the audit and the auditor’s
opinion in accordance with PSA 705 (Revised). Qualified
or Disclaimer
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RESULTS OF EXTERNAL
CONFIRMATION
PROCEDURES
• If the auditor identifies factors that give rise to doubts about the
reliability of the response to a confirmation request, the auditor
shall obtain further audit evidence to resolve those doubts.
• If the auditor determines that a response to a confirmation
request is not reliable, the auditor shall evaluate the implications
on the assessment of the relevant risks of material misstatement,
including the risk of fraud, and on the related nature, timing and
extent of other audit procedures
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NON RESPONSES

• In the case of each non-response, the auditor

shall perform alternative audit procedures to
obtain relevant and reliable audit evidence.
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ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES

• Where no response is received, the auditor ordinarily

contacts the recipient of the request to elicit a response.
Where the auditor is unable to obtain a response, the
auditor uses alternative audit procedures. The nature of
alternative procedures varies according to the account and
assertion in question.
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ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES

• In the examination of accounts receivable, alternative

procedures may include examination of subsequent
cash receipts, examination of shipping
documentation or other client documentation to
provide evidence for the existence assertion, and
sales cut off tests to provide evidence for the
completeness assertion.
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ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES
• In the examination of accounts payable, alternative
procedures may include examination of subsequent
cash disbursements or correspondence from third
parties to provide evidence of the existence
assertion, and examination of other records, such
as goods received notes, to provide evidence of the
completeness assertion.
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EXCEPTIONS
• Exceptions noted in responses to confirmation requests
may indicate misstatements or potential
misstatements in the financial statements. When
a misstatement is identified, the auditor is required by PSA
240 to evaluate whether such misstatement is indicative of
fraud. Exceptions may provide a guide to the quality of
responses from similar confirming parties or for similar
accounts. Exceptions also may indicate a deficiency, or
deficiencies, in the entity’s internal control over financial
reporting
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Thank you.
That’s all for today!!