Chapter 01 - Auditing and Assurance Services
Solution Manual For Auditing & Assurance Services
9th Edition by Timothy Louwers, Penelope Bagley
,Chapter 01 - Auditing and Assurance Services
CHAPTER 01
Auditing and Assurance Services
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Review Multiple Exercises, Problems,
Checkpoints Choice and Simulations
1. Define information risk and explain how the 1, 2, 3 29, 31, 38 65*
financial statement auditing process helps to
reduce this risk, thereby reducing the cost of
capital for a company.
2. Define and contrast assurance, attestation, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 23, 25, 28, 44, 60, 65*
and financial statement auditing services. 50
3. Describe and define the assertions that 9, 10, 11 36, 39, 40, 41, 45, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69
management makes about the recognition, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52,
measurement, presentation, and disclosure of 53, 54, 55, 57, 58,
the financial statements and explain why 59
auditors use them as a focal point of the audit.
4. Define professional skepticism and explain its 12 24, 37 61
key characteristics.
5. Describe the organization of public accounting 13, 14 30, 42, 56 72
firms and identify the various services that
they offer.
6. Describe the audits and auditors in 15, 16, 17, 18 26, 27, 32, 34, 35 64, 66
governmental, internal, and operational
auditing.
7. List and explain the requirements for 19, 20, 21, 22 33, 43, 51 70, 71
becoming a certified public accountant (CPA)
and other certifications available to an
accounting professional.
(*) Item relates to multiple learning objectives
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SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS
1.1 Business risk is the risk that an entity will fail to meet its business objectives. When assessing
business risk, a professional must consider all possible threats to an entity‘s goals and objectives. Some
illustrative examples include the risk that: 1) its existing customers will start buying products or services
from its primary competitors; 2) its product lines will become obsolete; 3) its taxes will increase; 4) key
government contracts will be lost; 5) key employees will leave the entity; and many other examples exist.
1.2 To help minimize business risk and take advantage of other opportunities presented in today‘s competitive
business environment, decision makers such as chief executive officers (CEOs) demand timely, relevant,
and reliable information. There are at least four environmental conditions that increase demand for reliable
information. First, complexity which implies that events and transactions in today‘s global business
environment can be complicated. Most investors do not have the level of expertise needed to properly
account for complex transactions. Second is remoteness which implies that decision makers are often
separated from current and potential business relationships due to distance and time. For example, investors
may not be able to visit distant locations to check up on their investments. Third is time-sensitivity which
implies that in today‘s economic environment, investors and other users of financial statements need to
make decisions more rapidly than ever before. As a result, the ability to promptly obtain high-quality
information is essential. Fourth is a consequence which implies that decisions may very well involve
significant investments. As a result, the consequences can be severe if information cannot be obtained
1.3 Of all the different risks discussed in the chapter up to this point, information risk is the one that is most
likely to create the demand for independent and objective assurance services is information risk or the
probability that the information circulated by an entity will be false or misleading. Because the primary
source of information for investors and creditors is the company itself, an incentive exists for that
company‘s management to make their business or service appear to be better than it actually may be, to put
their best foot forward. As a result, preparers and issuers of financial information (directors, managers,
accountants, and other people employed in a business) might benefit by giving false, misleading, or overly
optimistic information. This potential conflict of interest between information providers and users which
provides the underlying basis for the demand for reliable information.
1.4 The four major elements of the broad definition of assurance services are
Independence. CPAs want to preserve their reputation and competitive advantage by always preserving
integrity and objectivity when performing assurance services.
Professional services. Virtually all work performed by CPAs is defined as ―professional services‖ as long
as it involves some element of judgment based on education and experience.
Improving the quality of information or its context. The emphasis is on ―information,‖ CPAs‘ traditional
area of expertise. CPAs can enhance quality by assuring users about the reliability and relevance of
information, and these two features are closely related to the familiar credibility-lending products of
attestation and audit services. ―Context‖ is relevance in a different light. For assurance services, improving
the context of information refers to improving its usefulness when targeted to particular decision makers in
the surroundings of particular decision problems.
For decision makers. As the ―consumers‖ of assurance services, decision makers are the beneficiaries of the
assurance services. Decision makers may or may not be the ―client‖ that pays the fee and may or may not be
one of the parties to an assertion or other information, but they personify the consumer focus of new and
different professional work.
1.5 An assurance services engagement is any assignment that improves the quality of information, or its
context, for decision makers. Because information (e.g., financial statements) are prepared by managers of
an entity who have authority and responsibility for financial success or failure, an outsider may be skeptical
that the information truly is objective, free from bias, fully informative, and free from material error,
intentional or inadvertent. The services of an independent auditor helps resolve those doubts because the
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auditor‘s success depends upon his or her independent, objective, and competent assessment of the
information (e.g., the conformity of the financial statements with the appropriate reporting framework).
The independent auditor‘s role is to lend credibility to the information; hence, the outsider will likely seek
his or her independent opinion about the financial statements.
1.6 An attestation engagement is ―an engagement in which a practitioner is engaged to issue or does issue a
written communication that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion that is the
responsibility of another party‖ (SSAE 10, AT 101.01). To attest means to lend credibility or to vouch for
the truth or accuracy of the statements that one party makes to another. The attest function is a term often
applied to the activities of independent CPAs when acting as auditors of financial statements.
1.7 An assurance service engagement is one that improves the quality of information, or its context, for
decision makers. Thus, an attestation service engagement is one type of an assurance service. Another
way of thinking about the issue is to remember that the financial statement audit engagement is one type of
an attestation service. Please see exhibit 1.3 in the text which depicts the relationship among assurance,
attestation, and auditing engagements.
1.8 According to the American Accounting Association, ―Auditing is a systematic process of objectively
obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the
degree of correspondence between the assertions and established criteria and communicating the results to
interested users.‖ In effect, auditors add reliability to the information that is provided to interested users.
Of course, this definition is focused on an external reporting context. Students may also discuss how
governmental and internal auditors operate as well.
In response to ―What do auditors do?‖ students can respond by stating that auditors (1) obtain and evaluate
evidence about assertions made by management about economic actions and events, (2) ascertain the
degree of correspondence between the assertions and the appropriate reporting framework, and (3) issue an
audit report (opinion). Students can also respond more generally by stating that auditors essentially lend
credibility to the financial statements presented by management.
1.9 Financial accounting refers to the process of recording, classifying, summarizing, and reporting about a
company‘s assets, liabilities, capital, revenues, and expenses in the financial statements in accordance with
the applicable financial reporting framework (e.g., GAAP). In so doing, the management team is making
several assertions about the financial statements. The financial accounting process is the responsibility of
the management team.
Financial statement auditing refers to the process whereby professional auditors gather evidence related to
the assertions that management makes in the financial statements, evaluates the evidence and concludes on
the fairness of the financial statements in a report.
They differ because accountants produce the financial statements in accordance with the applicable
financial reporting framework. After this is complete, financial statement auditors then perform procedures
to ascertain whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the applicable financial
reporting framework.
1.10 The two major classifications of ASB assertions with several assertions in each classification are:
Assertions About Classes of Transactions and Events, and Related Disclosures
Occurrence assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions giving rise to assets,
liabilities, sales, and expenses occurred. Key questions include ―Did the recorded sales transactions really
occur?‖
Completeness assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all transactions of the period that
should be are included in the financial statements (including footnotes). Completeness also refers to proper
inclusion in financial statements of all revenue, expense, and related disclosures. Key questions related to
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completeness include ―Are the revenue and expense account balances complete?‖ and ―Were all the
transactions that should be included reflected properly in the footnote disclosures?‖
Cutoff assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all transactions that properly belong in the
preceding or following accounting periods are excluded. And, that only those transactions that should be
included in the financial statements are included. A key question related to the cutoff assertion includes
―Were all the transactions recorded in the right period?‖
Accuracy assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions have been recorded at the
correct amount. Key questions include ―Were the expenses recorded at the proper dollar amount?‖
Classification assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions were posted to the
correct accounts. Key questions include ―Was this expense recorded in the appropriate account?‖
Presentation assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that the information has been properly
presented and described, and that the disclosures are clearly expressed. Key questions include ―Was the
information in the disclosure properly presented and disclosed?‖
Assertions about Account Balances and Related Disclosures
Existence assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that the balance represents assets,
liabilities, sales, and expenses that are real and in existence at the balance sheet date. Key questions
include ―Does this number truly represent assets that existed at the balance sheet date?‖
Completeness assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all balances of the period are in the
financial statements. Key questions related to completeness include ―Are the asset and liability accounts in
the financial statements complete?‖
Rights and obligations assertion: The objectives related to rights and obligations are to establish with
evidence that assets are owned (or rights such as capitalized leases are shown) and liabilities are owed. Key
questions related to this assertion include ―Does the company really own the assets? And ―Are related legal
responsibilities identified?‖
Accuracy, Valuation and Allocation assertions: The objective is to establish with evidence that balances
have been valued correctly. Key questions include ―Are the account balances accurate?‖ ―Are the accounts
valued correctly?‖ and ―Are expenses allocated to the period(s) benefited?‖
Presentation assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that the balance sheet amounts, and
related footnote disclosures are complete, properly presented and are understandable to the financial
statement users. Key questions relate to ―Is the account properly presented in the correct financial
statement category‖ And, ―are the footnote disclosures complete and presented to promote an
understanding of the nature of the account?‖
1.11 In general, management‘s financial statement assertions are important to auditors because they are used
when assessing risks by determining the different types of misstatements that could occur for each assertion
related to each significant account and disclosure. Next, auditors use the assertions to develop audit
procedures that are appropriate to mitigate the risk of material misstatement for each assertion. In essence,
the key questions that must be answered about each of the relevant assertions become the focal points for
audit procedures. Audit procedures are the means to answer the key questions posed by management‘s
financial statement assertions. In fact, the procedures are completed to provide the evidence necessary to
persuade the auditor that there is no material misstatement related to each of the relevant assertions
identified for an engagement.
The ASB assertions differ from the PCAOB assertions in that they provide greater detail and clarity for
auditors to conceptualize the type of misstatements that may exist in the financial statements. Thus, the
PCAOB assertions are more general than the ASB assertions. Importantly, the PCAOB recognizes that
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their assertions are more general and do allow auditors to use the more granular and specific ASB
assertions when completing the audit. As a result, largely each of the firms auditing public companies with
international operations feature the ASB assertions to guide their auditing processes. Importantly, a student
of auditing will note that the ASB assertions are in direct alignment with the PCAOB assertions. This is
illustrated in the text in Exhibit 1.4
1.12 By having a belief that a potential conflict of interest always exists between the auditor and the
management team, auditors will be skeptical when completing the audit. Indeed, even though the vast
majority of audits do not contain fraud, auditors have no choice but to consider the possibility of fraud on
every audit. Stated simply, errors and financial reporting frauds have happened in the past, and users of
financial statements and audit reports expect auditors to detect material misstatements if they exist.
Indeed, auditing firms have long recognized the importance of exercising professional skepticism when
making professional judgments. As a student of auditing, you can expect to encounter difficult economic
transactions as an auditor. When a difficult transaction is encountered, auditors must take the time to fully
understand the economic substance of that transaction and then critically evaluate, with skepticism, the
evidence provided by the client to justify its accounting treatment. There are no shortcuts allowed. Rather,
auditors must always hold a belief that a potential conflict of interest exist between the auditor and
management, and they must be unbiased and objective when making their professional judgments.
1.13 Generally speaking, assurance services involve the lending of credibility to information, whether financial
or nonfinancial. CPAs have assured vote counts (e.g., Baseball Hall of Fame), dollar amounts of prizes that
sweepstakes have claimed to award, accuracy of advertisements, investment performance statistics, and
characteristics claimed for computer software programs. Some specific examples of assurance service
engagements performed on nonfinancial information include
eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) reporting.
Enterprise risk management assessment.
Information risk assessment and assurance.
Third-party reimbursement maximization.
Rental property operations review.
Customer satisfaction surveys.
Evaluation of investment management policies.
Fraud and illegal acts prevention and deterrence.
Internal audit outsourcing.
1.14 There are three major areas of public accounting services
Financial Statement Audit and other types of Assurance services.
Tax services.
Consulting and Advisory services.
1.15 Operational auditing is the study of business operations for the purpose of making recommendations about
the economic and efficient use of resources, effective achievement of business objectives, and compliance
with company policies. The AICPA views operational auditing as a type of consulting or advisory service
offered by public accounting firms.
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1.16 The GAGAS issued by the GAO is very clear on this point. Specifically, the elements of expanded-scope
auditing include (1) financial and compliance audits, (2) economy and efficiency audits, and (3) program
results audits.
1.17 Compliance auditing involves a study of an organization‘s policies, procedures, and, ultimately, its
performance in following applicable laws, rules, and regulations. An example would be a school district‘s
policies and procedures related to a meal program for its students. In these types of situations, there would
be a demand for a compliance audit which would be designed to ensure that the school district complies
with the stated policies and procedures of the program.
1.18 Other kinds of auditors include Internal Revenue Service auditors who are required to audit the taxable
income and deductions taken by taxpayers in tax returns and determine their correspondence with the
standards found in the Internal Revenue Code. They also might have to audit for fraud and tax evasion.
Other examples include state and federal bank examiners who are responsible for auditing banks, savings
and loan associations, and other financial institutions for evidence of solvency and compliance with
banking and other related laws and regulations.
1.19 The purpose of the continuing education requirement is to ensure that CPAs in practice maintain their
expertise at a sufficiently high level in light of evolving business conditions and new regulations. For
CPAs in public practice, 120 hours of continuing education is required every three years with no less than
20 hours in any one year. For CPAs not in public practice, the general requirement is 120 or fewer (90 in
some states) every three years.
1.20 Not everything can be learned in the classroom, and some on-the-job experience is helpful before a person
is able to be held out to the public as a licensed professional. Also, the experience requirement tends to
―weed out‖ those individuals who are just looking to become certified without ever being involved in actual
accounting work.
1.21 State boards administer the state accountancy laws and are responsible for ensuring that candidates have
passed the CPA examination and satisfied the state requirements for education and experience before being
awarded a CPA certificate. At the same time, new CPAs must pay a fee to obtain a state license to practice.
Thereafter, state boards of accountancy regulate the behavior of CPAs under their jurisdiction (enforcing
state rules of conduct) and supervise the continuing education requirements. As a result, the state boards
play an important role in the CPA certification and licensure process.
1.22 After becoming a CPA licensed in one state, a person can obtain a CPA certificate and license in another
state. The process is known as reciprocity. CPAs can file the proper application with another state board of
accountancy, meet the state‘s requirements, and obtain another CPA certificate. Many CPAs hold
certificates and licenses in several states. From a global perspective, individuals must be licensed in each
country. Similar to CPAs in the United States, chartered accountants (CAs) practice in Australia, Canada,
Great Britain, and India.
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SOLUTIONS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE-QUESTIONS
1.23 a. Incorrect This is an attestation to the prize promoter‘s claims. Because attestation and
audit engagements are subsets of assurance engagements, this is an example of
an assurance engagement. However, each response is an example of an
assurance engagement; thus, the answer is (e).
b. Incorrect This is an audit engagement to give an opinion on financial statements. Because
attestation and audit engagements are subsets of assurance engagements, this is
an example of an assurance engagement. However, each response is an example
of an assurance engagement; thus, the answer is (e).
c. Incorrect This is an assurance engagement on a newspaper‘s circulation data. Because
attestation and audit engagements are subsets of assurance engagements, all are
assurance engagements. Thus, the answer is (e).
d. Incorrect This is an assurance engagement on the performance of golf balls. Because
attestation and audit engagements are subsets of assurance engagements, all are
assurance engagements. Thus, the answer is (e).
e. Correct Because attestation and audit engagements are subsets of assurance
engagements, all of the responses are examples of assurance engagements.
1.24 a. Correct The management team is generally trying to put its ―best foot forward‖ when
reporting their financial statement information. The auditor must make sure that
the management team does not violate the accounting rules when doing so. IN
essence, this statement characterizes why professional skepticism is required to
be exercised by auditors.
b. Incorrect ―Exclusively in the capacity of an auditor‖ is not an idea that relates to an
attitude of professional skepticism.
c. Incorrect Professional obligations are not related to an attitude of professional skepticism.
d. Incorrect While it is true that financial statement and financial data are verifiable, this
does not related to the reasons why an auditor needs to begin an audit with an
attitude of professional skepticism.
1.25 a. Incorrect While work on a forecast would potentially be covered by the attestation
standards, the auditors must provide assurance about some type of management
assertion in an attestation engagement.
b. Correct This is the basic definition of an attestation service, as articulated in the book
and the professional standards.
c. Incorrect Since there is no assurance about any management assertion when preparing a
tax return with information that has not been reviewed or audited, this type of
tax work is not considered an attestation service.
d. Incorrect Since there is no assurance about any management assertion when giving expert
testimony about particular facts in an income tax case, this type of work is not
considered an attestation service.
1.26 a. Incorrect The objective of environmental auditing is to help achieve and maintain
compliance with environmental laws and regulations and to help identify and
correct unregulated environmental hazards. This answer is therefore incorrect.
b. Incorrect The objective of financial auditing is to obtain assurance on the conformity of
financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles. This answer
is therefore incorrect.
c. Incorrect The objective of compliance auditing is the entity‘s compliance with laws and
regulations. This answer is therefore incorrect.
d. Correct Operational auditing refers to the study of business operations for the purpose of
making recommendations about the economic and efficient use of resources,
effective achievement of business objectives, and compliance with company
policies.
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1.27 a. Incorrect This is not the primary objective of an operational audit. However, while
completing an operational audit, a professionally skeptical auditor should still be
concerned about compliance with financial accounting standards.
b. Correct This statement exactly characterizes the goal of an operational audit. In
addition, the statement is part of the basic definition of operational auditing.
c. Incorrect An operational audit does not focus on the financial statements of an entity.
d. Incorrect While analytical tools and skills may be used during an operational audit, they
are also a very important aspect of financial auditing.
1.28 a. Correct According to the AICPA definition found in AU 200 (paragraph 11) and in your
book, ―the purpose of an audit is to enhance the degree of confidence that
intended users can place in the financial statements. This is achieved by the
expression of an opinion by the auditor on whether the financial statements are
prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial
reporting framework. As a result, this is the correct response.
b. Incorrect The AICPA definition is not limited to the FASB for the appropriate reporting
framework that is used as the benchmark when completing an audit. The
definition is general enough to include other financial reporting frameworks as
well, such as IFRS.
c. Incorrect The AICPA definition does not focus on the SEC as an appropriate reporting
framework to be used as a benchmark when completing an audit. The definition
is focused on the ―applicable‖ financial reporting framework, such as GAAP or
IFRS. The reference to the SEC is wrong.
d. Incorrect This phrase is not referenced in the AICPA definition found in the auditing
standards. This phrase is found in the AAA definition of the audit found in this
book.
1.29 a. Incorrect While complexity is an important condition that increases the demand for
reliable information, the potential conflict of interest between management and
the bank is far and away the biggest factor driving the demand for audited
financial statements.
b. Incorrect While remoteness is an important condition that increases the demand for
reliable information, the potential conflict of interest between management and
the bank is far and away the biggest factor driving the demand for audited
financial statements.
c. Incorrect While the consequences of making a bad decision are an important condition
that increases the demand for reliable information, the potential conflict of
interest between management and the bank is far and away the biggest factor
driving the demand for audited financial statements.
d. Correct The potential conflict of interest between management and the bank is far and
away the biggest factor driving the demand for audited financial statements.
Consider for example a company that was desperate for cash in order to survive.
Would it be possible that the management team would present unreliable
financial statements to the bank in order to get a desperation loan? Because of
this possibility, a financial statement audit is needed to add credibility to the
financial statements.
1.30 a. Incorrect According to Section 201 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, bookkeeping services are
prohibited.
b. Incorrect According to Section 201 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, internal audit services are
prohibited.
c. Incorrect According to Section 201 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, valuation services are
prohibited.
d. Correct Sarbanes-Oxley prohibits the provision of all of the services listed in answers a,
b, and c; therefore, d (all of the above) is the best response.
