Thursday, March 10, 2022

ISA (UK) 315: Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement Through Understanding of the Entity and Its Environment

 The auditor's goal is to detect and analyze the risks of material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, at the financial statement and assertion levels, so that responses to the estimated risks of material misstatement can be designed and implemented. ISA 315 (Revised) outlines the reasons "why" risk assessment processes should be performed, as well as "what" has to be evaluated and "how" it should be assessed.

The following steps for risk assessment must be followed:

(a)        Inquiries of management, suitable personnel within the internal audit function (if    one exists), and others inside the organization who, in the auditor's opinion,   may have knowledge that can help detect substantial misstatement risks due to   fraud or error.

(b)        Analytical procedures.

c)         Inspection and observation

In September 2019, the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) authorized major revisions to ISA 315. The modifications will apply to financial statement audits for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2021. The adjustments will have far-reaching consequences, requiring businesses of all kinds to rethink their risk-assessment strategies. The key areas of the revisions are shown below.

§  Subjectivity, complexity, uncertainty, change, and susceptibility to misstatement due to managerial bias or fraud are five new inherent risk characteristics that have been introduced to aid in risk assessment.

§  A new risk spectrum has emerged, with major dangers at the higher end.

§  The risk evaluation must be based on "adequate, appropriate" evidence acquired via risk assessment methods.

§  There will be a lot greater emphasis on IT, particularly on IT general controls.

§  More on audit-relevant controls, as well as the design and implementation effort that goes into them.

§  The removal of smaller entity considerations as a separate category of paragraph and the inclusion of that content inside the main body of the text, as well as the addition of new material.

 

Practice:

The improvements attempt to improve the quality and consistency of risk evaluations while also encouraging professional skepticism. Understanding the nature and scope of the required modifications will be a major task for those conducting ISA audits. ISA 315 (Revised) contains new and updated content for understanding IT and general IT controls, as well as expanded auditor concerns relating to IT. The auditor must be aware of how the entity handles data and how it is used within the organization. The accounting records, how information is gathered and maintained, and how these flow into the accounts in the financial statements should all be understood.

 

References:    https://bit.ly/3vRIswE

https://bit.ly/34ujhF2

https://bit.ly/3HSVLPO

https://bit.ly/3Kv5nlt

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