Auditing Developments (Currently Unavailable)

Author: Steven C. Fustolo

The latest developments affecting audit engagements are addressed in this course. Part of planning an audit involves consideration of the business and economic environment in which the client operates. Thus, auditors need to be aware of the various types of fraud that clients and employees may be committing, especially in light of myriad lawsuits against auditors and accountants. In addition to applying techniques to limit their liability to their clients and third parties, auditors are confronting other major problems facing the accounting field, including compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The peer review comments and new auditing statements provide further guidance on current issues. To deal with the volatility in the business climate, auditors should focus their efforts in key areas and should take lessons from litigation. Additionally, in this course, auditors will learn how to perform more efficient engagements, and lastly, a section on the issuance of SAS Nos. 122-127 as part of the ASB's Clarity Project, and much more. The course focuses on reviewing and recalling rules related to auditing standards including new developments related to those standards.

Number of Pages: 426

Publication Date: March 2014

Designed For
Auditors and accountants in public practice and industry who want to keep up-to-date.

Topics Covered

• General Developments
• Status of the U.S. Economy in 2014 and Its Impact on Auditors
• 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse
• Small Business Fraud
• Madoff and the Single Auditor Issue
• The CFO Perspective on Their Outside Auditors and Fraud
• The Effect of Enron- 12 Years Later
• AICPA's Top 10 Technology Issues-2013
• Anti-Sarbanes-Oxley Continues After Eleven Years
• Whistleblowing- The New Profession Acts Like the Oldest Profession
• The Cloud and SSAE No. 16 Reports
• Study on Public Perception of Accountants in Jury Trials
• Technical Practice Aids
• ASB's Clarity Project
• Statements on Auditing Standards

Learning Objectives

• Identify certain factors that an auditor may consider in assessing going concern
• Identify audit procedures that an auditor should perform on receivables and inventories
• Identify the categories of securities found in GAAP
• Identify examples of fraud involving fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets
• Identify some of the audit procedures required to deal with the risk of management override of internal controls
• Recognize some of the criteria that are needed to recognize revenue
• Identify facts related to the concentration of auditors in the larger public company market
• Recognize recommendations made to address auditor liability
• Recall some of the AICPA's top 10 technology issues affecting auditors
• Identify the auditor requirements of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Recall some of the whistleblower protections for employees of public companies including the incentives given to such whistleblowers to report to the SEC
• Identify some of the key deficiencies found in peer review
• Identify some of the requirements found in SSAE No. 16 related to the service auditor's report
• Identify an example of a coverage ratio
• Recognize some of the common pitfalls that continue to expose accountants to loss in litigation
• Identify some of the top ten actions to minimize the risk of being sued
• Identify actions that can reduce time and increase audit efficiency in an audit engagement
• Identify categories of laws and regulations that are found in AU-C 250
• Identify some of the different types of deficiencies found in a financial statement audit
• Recognize some of the elements found in the new audit report related to title, heading and dating
• Recognize some of the types of modified opinion headings found in the new audit report
• Identify the new type of paragraph that is permitted in the audit report
• Identify the new group auditor rules including the responsibilities of parties involved, and the procedures to be performed

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Auditing (16 hours)

Program Prerequisites
General understanding of Auditing Standards.

Advance Preparation
None