Introduction To Audit and Assurance in Specialized Industries
Introduction To Audit and Assurance in Specialized Industries
ASSURANCE:
SPECIALIZED INDUSTRY
For discussion today:
◦Competence
◦Audit Planning
◦Reliance on experts
Competence
◦ When accepting an audit engagement involving a specialist, the audit firm
needs to pay close attention to the competence of the audit firm to
provide the service.
◦ ISQC 1, Quality Control for Firms That Perform Audits and Reviews of
Financial Statement, and Other Assurance and Related Services
Engagements requires the audit firm to consider whether the firm is
competent to perform the engagement and has the capabilities, including
time and resources, to do so. This should include consideration of whether
the audit firm personnel has knowledge of relevant industries and has
experience with relevant regulatory or reporting requirements, or the
ability to gain the necessary skills and knowledge effectively.
Audit Planning
◦ Identification of the risks of material misstatements in a specialized industry
should be approached in the same way as in any other audit – by obtaining
appropriate understanding of the business and its environment.
◦ To assist the audit team members assigned to a specialized industry client, the
audit firm is likely to have additional resources available. There may be
briefing notes or internal technical guidance on how financial reporting
standards should be applied within the sector. For example, in the audit of
banking sector clients, an audit firm may produce guidance on specific
application of IFRS Standards relating to the range of financial instruments
typically held by banks. Audit staff can then refer to this guidance when
performing the audit, particularly when identifying risks of material
misstatements.
Reliance on Experts
◦ The auditor may plan to use an auditor’s expert to obtain audit evidence. This
is quite likely in a specialized industry as despite being competent to perform
the engagement, the audit firm may not have the necessary specific expertise
in some areas.
◦ The audit firm must adhere to the requirements and principles of ISA 620,
Using the Work of an Auditor’s Expert which deals with matters including the
evaluation of the objectivity, competence and capabilities of the auditor’s
expert, determining and communication the scope and objectives of their
work, and assessing their finding
Conclusion
◦ The audit of a client in a specialized industry can pose some
challenges to the audit firm. However, with proper consideration of
competence, and by providing staff with additional support and
guidance, there audits should not necessarily be more complex or
challenging to plan and perform. Using experts can provide high
quality audit evidence in specialist situations, but the auditor must be
careful to fully evaluate the findings of the auditor’s expert and not to
over-rely on their work. For audit staff, working on this type of
engagement can be very rewarding, providing exposure to
sometimes unusual businesses.