Deck 1: An Introduction to Assurance and Financial Statement Auditing

Question 1

Auditing is a type of attest service.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Why do auditors generally use a sampling approach to evidence gathering?

A) Auditors are experts and do not need to look at much to know whether the financial statements are correct or not.
B) Auditors must balance the cost of the audit with the need for precision.
C) Auditors must limit their exposure to their client to maintain independence.
D) The auditor's relationship with the client is generally adversarial, so the auditor will not have access to all of the financial information of the company.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Assurance services may improve all of the following except

A) Relevance.
B) Credibility.
C) Periodicity.
D) Reliability.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the fundamental,underlying reason for why there is demand for an independent auditor to report on financial statements?

A) A management fraud may exist and it is more likely to be detected by auditors if they are independent.
B) Different interests may exist between the company preparing the statements and the parties using the statements.
C) A misstatement of account balances may exist and it is the independent auditor's responsibility to ensure that financial statements are not misstated.
D) A poorly designed internal control system may be in place.

Question 5

Conflicts of interest often occur between absentee owners and managers.

Question 6

Decision makers demand reliable information that is provided by accountants.

Question 7

For publicly-held companies,which of the following is integrated into the audit of financial statements?

A) Budgetary information audit.
B) The audit of internal controls.
C) Audit of management forecasts.
D) Audit of interim financial statements.

Question 8

Which of the following best describes why an independent auditor is asked to express an opinion on the fair presentation of financial statements?

A) It is difficult to prepare financial statements that fairly present a company's financial position and changes in cash flows without the expertise of an independent auditor.
B) It is management's responsibility to seek available independent aid in the appraisal of the financial information shown in its financial statements.
C) The opinion of an independent party is needed because a company is not likely to be considered objective with respect to its own financial statements.
D) It is a customary courtesy that all stockholders of a company receive an independent report on management's stewardship in managing the affairs of the business.

Question 9

Information asymmetry seldom occurs.

Question 10

An auditor who accepts an audit engagement and does not possess expertise with respect to the business entity's industry,should

A) Engage financial experts familiar with the nature of the business entity.
B) Obtain a knowledge of matters that relate to the nature of the entity's business.
C) Refer a substantial portion of the audit to another CPA, who will act as the principal auditor.
D) First inform management that an unqualified opinion cannot be issued.

Question 11

Which of the following best describes the concept of audit risk?

A) The risk of the auditor being sued because of association with an audit client.
B) The risk that the auditor will provide an unqualified opinion on financial statements that are, in fact, materially misstated.
C) The overall risk that a material misstatement exists in the financial statements.
D) The risk that auditors use audit procedures that are inappropriate.

Question 12

Evidence is reliable if it

A) Signals the true state of a management assertion.
B) Applies to the period being audited.
C) Relates to the audit assertion being tested.
D) Is consistent with management's assertions.

Question 13

Which of the following statements best describes a relationship between sample size and other elements of auditing?

A) If materiality increases, so will the sample size.
B) If the desired level of assurance increases, sample sizes can be smaller.
C) If materiality decreases, sample size will need to increase.
D) There is no relationship between sample size and materiality or the desired level of assurance.

Question 14

Auditing services and attestation services are the same.

Question 15

Testing all transactions that occurred during the period is cost prohibitive.

Question 16

In the context of agency theory,information asymmetry refers to the idea that

A) Information can vary in its reliability.
B) Information can vary in its relevance.
C) Management has more information about the entity's true financial position than do the absentee owners (i.e. stockholders).
D) Management likely will not act in the best interests of the absentee owners.

Question 17

The basic purpose of a financial statement audit is to

A) Detect fraud.
B) Examine individual transactions so that the auditor may certify as to their validity.
C) Provide assurance regarding whether the client's financial statements are fairly stated.
D) Assure the consistent application of correct accounting procedures.

Question 18

Independence standards are required for audits of public companies,but not for audits of private companies.

Question 19

During the first phase of an audit,a CPA most likely would

A) Identify specific internal control activities that are likely to prevent fraud.
B) Evaluate the reasonableness of the client's accounting estimates.
C) Evaluate the integrity of management.
D) Inquire of the client's attorney as to whether any unrecorded claims are probable or asserted.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the study of auditing is NOT true?

A) The study of auditing can be valuable to future accountants and business decision makers whether or not they plan to become auditors.
B) The study of auditing focuses on learning the analytical and logical skills necessary to evaluate the relevance and reliability of information.
C) The study of auditing focuses on learning the rules, techniques, and computations required to analyze financial statements.
D) The study of auditing begins with the understanding of a coherent logical framework and techniques useful for gathering and analyzing evidence about others' assertions.

Question 21

Explain the relationship between audit,attest and assurance services.

Question 22

An investor is reading the financial statements of the Stankey Corporation and observes that the statements are accompanied by an auditor's unqualified report.From this,the investor may conclude that

A) Any disputes over significant accounting issues have been settled to the auditor's satisfaction.
B) The auditor is satisfied that Stankey will be highly profitable in the future.
C) The auditor is certain that Stankey's financial statements have been prepared accurately and that all account balances are precisely correct.
D) The auditor has determined that Stankey's management is not qualified to lead the company.

Question 23

On a high level,the accounting processes of a business consist of internal controls,individual transactions,and account balances.
Required:
A. A company implements internal controls as a safeguard to ensure appropriate capturing and recording of individual transactions, which are then collected into ending account balances. Ending account balances are then used to prepare the financial statements. The auditor expresses an opinion on the financial statements, which are made up of ending account balances and disclosures.
A. Describe the relationship between internal controls, individual transactions, and account balances.
B. Discuss how evidence regarding each of these three areas can help an auditor determine if the financial statements are fairly stated.
B. The auditor can obtain evidence from all three steps of the accounting process. For instance, an auditor can directly test the account balance (e.g., by examining a bank statement reconciliation). This evidence is usually the highest-quality but costliest evidence. Alternatively, the auditor can obtain indirect information by testing the individual transactions that make up an account balance. If transactions are handled properly, this provides indirect evidence that the ending balances are more likely to be fairly stated. The least direct method of obtaining evidence is to evaluate and test the company's internal controls, which are implemented to ensure that transactions are handled properly. If a client's system of internal control is effective, transactions are more likely to be handled properly, and thus the ending balances making up a set of financial statements are more likely to be fairly stated. Auditors usually collect evidence relating to all three areas: internal control, transactions, and ending balances.

Question 24

Which of the following would best be described as an assurance service?

A) Preparing a report representing a client's position during an IRS audit.
B) Working with a client to develop a more efficient method of processing financial transactions.
C) Offering an opinion concerning the accuracy of statements made on a client's website relating to the client's online privacy policies.
D) Assisting a client in identifying potential sources of capital for potential acquisitions.

Question 25

Sally Thompson's company,Sally's Shoes,is a successful shoe retail business with one store.Sally would like to expand to two locations,but the bank has asked for an independent audit before it will provide financing.Sally hires her brother-in-law,George Thompson,to perform the audit.George has experience in auditing non-profit organizations and he decides to perform the audit the same way as his other audits.After completing all the steps of the audit process,George issues an unqualified opinion indicating that he is certain that the company's financial statements contain no misstatements.Comment on any potential problems with George's audit of Sally's Shoes.

Question 26

An auditor would issue an adverse opinion if

A) The auditor encounters adverse attitudes toward the auditor on the part of client management.
B) A qualified opinion cannot be given because the auditor is not qualified to do so.
C) An immaterial misstatement is present.
D) The statements taken as a whole do not fairly present the financial condition and results of operations of the company.

Question 27

The textbook presented the concept of auditing through an analogy that involved buying a house and hiring a house inspector.Name three desirable qualities of a house inspector or an auditor and discuss how those qualities apply to an auditor and why those qualities are important for an auditor to possess.

Question 28

Discuss an overview of the financial statement audit process using the terms "assertion," "evidence," and "report."

Question 29

Which of the following is not a concept that is included in the scope paragraph of the auditor's report?

A) The conformance of the financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles.
B) The audit was conducted in accordance with applicable auditing standards.
C) The audit was planned and performed to obtain reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance.
D) An audit involves examining items on a test (i.e. sampling) basis.

Question 30

The definition of auditing refers to auditing as a "systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions....." What is meant by "systematic process"?

A) All audits involve obtaining the same evidence.
B) All audits involve evaluating evidence in the same manner.
C) There should be a well-planned approach for obtaining and evaluating evidence.
D) All assertions are equally important for all audits.

Question 31

Which of the following is true with respect to the auditor's report?

A) The report indicates that the client's financial statements were audited in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards.
B) The report indicates that the client's financial statements were audited in accordance with applicable auditing standards.
C) The report indicates that the client's financial statements were audited in accordance with the auditor's best judgment.
D) The report indicates that the client's financial statements were audited in accordance with statements issued by the FASB.

Question 32

The auditor's report is generally addressed to the

A) Chief operating officer.
B) Securities and Exchange Commission.
C) Stockholders of the company.
D) Chief financial officer.

Question 33

Which one of the following statements best describes the concept of materiality?

A) Materiality is determined by reference to specific quantitative guidelines established by the AICPA.
B) Materiality depends only on the dollar amount of an item relative to other items in the financial statements.
C) Materiality depends on the nature of an item but not on the dollar amount of the item.
D) Materiality is largely a matter of professional judgment.

Question 34

Preliminary engagement activities include

A) Evaluating internal controls.
B) Assessing audit risk at the account balance level.
C) Setting materiality.
D) Performing background checks on top management.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is not true with respect to assurance,attest,and audit services?

A) These services are applied only to financial statements and financial statement accounts.
B) These services all involve obtaining and evaluating evidence.
C) These services all involve determining the correspondence of some information to a set of criteria.
D) These services all involve issuing a report.

Question 36

Define "information asymmetry" and discuss it in the context of the financial markets.Include in your discussion how information asymmetry is reduced.

Question 37

Auditors are most likely to use the most rigorous audit procedures to examine

A) Routine transactions.
B) Management assertions that are deemed to be of low risk.
C) Only the rights and obligations assertion.
D) Management assertions that are deemed to be of high risk.

Question 38

Before accepting an engagement to audit a new client,an auditor is required to

A) Make inquiries of the predecessor auditor.
B) Tell the client whether or not the auditor is willing to issue a "clean" opinion.
C) Prepare a memorandum setting forth the staffing requirements and documenting the preliminary audit plan.
D) Become a member of the client's board of directors.

Question 39

When obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment,the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal controls primarily to

A) Identify areas of relatively high risk of misstatement and plan the audit accordingly.
B) Provide suggestions for improvement to the client.
C) Serve as a basis for setting audit risk and materiality.
D) Decide whether to perform an audit for the client.

Question 40

Which of the following best describes why publicly-traded corporations follow the practice of having the external auditor appointed by the board of directors or elected by the stockholders?

A) To promote an adversarial relationship between the auditor and the corporation's management.
B) To enhance auditor independence from the management of the corporation.
C) To encourage a policy of rotation of the independent auditors.
D) To give management more leverage over the auditor's decisions.

Question 41

Why must an auditor assess materiality?

Question 42

Explain the relationship between sample size,materiality,and desired level of assurance.

Question 43

A standard,unqualified auditor's report contains three paragraphs,plus a fourth explanatory paragraph in some circumstances.Provide a brief (one sentence)description for each paragraph.

Question 44

You are a new employee at the accounting firm Murray & Murray,CPAs.Before you are assigned to your first audit,your supervisor tests your knowledge and asks you to explain the term "scope" in the context of a financial statement audit.
Required:
A. Provide a definition of scope.
A. The scope of an audit is the type and amount of audit work to be performed.
B. Describe what influences an auditor's determination of scope.
B. The auditor's assessments of risk and materiality influence the scope of the audit. For instance, if an auditor sets a lower materiality amount or would like to substantially reduce audit risk, the scope of the audit would be increased. In establishing the scope of an audit, the auditor must make decisions about the nature, extent, and timing of evidence to be gathered in order to evaluate management's assertions.

Question 45

You are a new staff auditor and you are auditing a client's inventory account.Briefly describe one way you might obtain direct evidence and one way you might obtain indirect evidence that the inventory account balance is fairly stated.

Question 46

Name and discuss the seven phases of the audit process.