ACCA paper f8 audit and assurance

ACCA
Paper F8
Audit and assurance
Pocket notes


Audit and assurance

British library
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A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Published by:
Kaplan Publishing UK
Unit 2 The Business Centre
Molly Millars Lane
Wokingham
Berkshire
RG41 2QZ
ISBN: 978-1-78415-244-4
© Kaplan Financial Limited, 2015
Printed and bound in Great Britain.
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paper F8

Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to assurance...............................................................................................1
Chapter 2: Rules and regulation....................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 3: Ethics and acceptance.................................................................................................13

Chapter 4: Risk...............................................................................................................................25
Chapter 5: Planning........................................................................................................................35
Chapter 6: Evidence.......................................................................................................................45
Chapter 7: Systems and controls................................................................................................... 57
Chapter 8: Procedures...................................................................................................................69
Chapter 9: Completion and review.................................................................................................81
Chapter 10: Reporting......................................................................................................................91
Chapter 11: Corporate governance.................................................................................................. 99
Chapter 12: Internal audit............................................................................................................... 105
Index

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......................................................................................................................................I.1

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Audit and assurance

Exam format



Section A:

Number of marks

8 x 2 mark objective test questions

4 x 1 mark objective test questions

20



4 x 10 mark questions (mainly scenario based)

40

Section B:



2 x 20 mark questions (mainly scenario based)



40
––––––



100



––––––

Any part of the syllabus can be tested in any section.
The 20 mark questions will focus on planning and risk assessment, internal controls and
substantive procedures.
Total time allowed: 3 hours plus 15 minutes reading and planning time

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paper F8

Aim of the paper
To develop knowledge and understanding
of the process of carrying out the assurance
engagement and its application in the context
of the professional regulatory framework.

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The keys to success in
Paper F8
Answer the question
Read the question extremely carefully,
paying attention to the verbs telling you what

to do, and to the mark allocation. You must
make (at least) one point in your answer for
every mark available.

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Audit and assurance

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Don’t overrun your time allocation

Think before you start writing

You must be absolutely strict with yourself
with your time allocation for each question.
180 minutes for 100 marks means 1.8
minutes per mark. You must not spend more
than 36 minutes on a 20 mark question,
simply because it is much easier to pick
up the first 10 marks available on a new
question than the remaining 10 marks of
the existing one. In the exam room, write
down the times for each question, and force
yourself to finish your attempt within the time
available. Such discipline may not be fun,
but it is the approach that will earn you most
marks in the exam.

Take time to understand what the question
is really asking. Certain words read in
isolation may lead you to misinterpret the
requirement.
You also need to make sure that you identify
the whole requirement. Some questions are
actually more than one requirement. For
example:
“Identify and explain the control deficiencies
in the question and recommend solutions to
overcome them.”

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paper F8

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Our Quality Co-ordinator will work with our
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Audit and assurance

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chapter

1

Introduction to assurance
In this chapter
•

Assurance services.

•

The elements of an assurance engagement.

•

Accountability, stewardship and agency.

1


Introduction to assurance

Assurance services

The practitioner:
Is offering a professional service
and expects to be paid
Must be competent, objective and
independent
Work must be carried out to
expected standards.

The purpose of assurance
services is to:
• increase the confidence; and
• reduce the risk of the users
of those services.
The International Framework for Assurance
Engagements gives the overall guidance for
carrying out assurance engagements.

3 parties involved

User

Expresses a conclusion
that provides the user with a

level of assurance about that
subject matter
2

Responsible party

Responsible for the
subject matter

Practitioner

Evaluates or
measures a subject matter

Against identified
suitable criteria
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Chapter 1

The Framework permits only two types of assurance engagement to be performed:
Reasonable assurance engagements
The practitioner:
•  gathers sufficient appropriate evidence
• does enough work to be able to

draw reasonable, but not absolute,
conclusions
• concludes that the subject matter
conforms in all material respects with
identified suitable criteria
• gives a report in the form of a positive
statement of opinion

EXAMPLE
• Statutory audit.

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Limited assurance engagement
The practitioner:
• gathers sufficient appropriate evidence to be
satisfied that the subject matter is plausible
in the circumstances
• gives a report in the form of a negative
statement of opinion (“nothing has come to
our attention”)

EXAMPLES
• Review of financial statements
(International Standard on Review
Engagements 2400).
• Risk assessment reports.
• Performance measurement reports.
• Systems reliability reports.
• Reports on social and environmental issues

reviews of internal control.
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Introduction to assurance

The elements of an
assurance engagement
There are 5 elements of an assurance
engagement:
•

the three parties involved:
–– the practitioner (i.e. the reviewer of
the information);

Accountability, stewardship
and agency
Accountability means
that people in positions of
power can be held to account
for their actions.

–– the intended users (of the
information); and
–– the responsible party (i.e. the
preparer of the information).

4

•

the subject matter under scrutiny;

•

suitable criteria against which to judge
the reliability and accuracy of the subject
matter (e.g. IFRS);

•

sufficient appropriate evidence to
substantiate an opinion; and

•

a written report in an appropriate form.

Example
Directors are accountable to
the shareholders and to society
at large for making decisions
on behalf of the company’s
owners and using the assets
of the company efficiently and
effectively.

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Chapter 1

Stewardship is the
responsibility to take good
care of resources. This
relationship, where one person
has a duty of care towards
someone else, is known as a
‘fiduciary relationship’.

Example
Directors have a duty
of stewardship of the
company’s assets.

Agency relationships
occur when one party, the
principal, employs another
party, the agent, to perform a
task on their behalf.

Example
Directors can be seen as the
agents of shareholders, employees as the agents of directors
and external auditors as agents

of shareholders.

Company management are required
to produce financial statements giving
an account of their stewardship of the
company at regular intervals, but there
was a need for some kind of independent
validation of the financial statements – the
independent audit.
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5


Introduction to assurance

Benefits of audit
Helps improve quality of information.

•

Auditor tests everything.

•

Independent scrutiny.

•

Auditor detects all fraud and error.

•

Reduces risk of management bias, fraud
and error.

•

Auditor confirms the company is a going
concern.

•

Enhances credibility of FS.

•

Auditor prepares the FS.

•

Deficiencies in internal controls
highlighted.

Limitations of audit

6

Expectations Gap

•

Exam focus
To practise the basics use the following test
your understandings (TYUs) Complete text:

•

FS include subjective estimates and
judgments.

•

Inherent limitations of internal controls.

•

Chapter 1, TYU 1

•

Representations from management not
reliable.

•

Chapter 1, TYU 2

•

Chapter 1, TYU MCQ’s

•

Evidence is persuasive not conclusive.

•

Do not test all transactions, only a
sample.

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