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thanks for the inviation and best answer provided by Mr. Hussein Salem keep it up.
Preserving evidence discovered from an audit for use in an administrative or judicial proceeding is too often taken for granted. When the audit and assessment is contested and results in a court battle, it may be many months or even years. Auditors’ memories fade – taxpayers’ memories fade – witnesses’ memories fade or they move away. The former cooperative relationship can become contentious – and the first casualty may be the loss of evidence that should be available for a trial. Knowing how evidence is introduced in court, and how it may be used to persuade a factfinder, is the key to knowing how it should be preserved for that eventuality.
ِAudit working paper considers the document, and the directory in which each containing observations made during the review process it considered private information and should not be informed of other parties it can be referenced in the time of need and help in decision-making or correcting situation.
I agree to the answers put by the experts here, particulalry brother Muhammed Azhar
I think it need to in case of stealing of those paper,manipulationn of some figures by anyone and in other to make is work credible and accountable.
I apologize for the answer I leave the answer to the specialists the experts in this the field that's not my area.
First: Thank you for inviting you to
This paper aims to clarify the foundations of corporate governance and the role of internal audit about it as one of the key elements.
Find Plan
· Be described in this paper to clarify the concept of internal audit, stating its development and intellectual framework and functions factors, and conditions of its effectiveness and the role of the audit committee.
· Corporate governance, as well as explaining the concept and principles, importance and responsibilities of the Board of Directors about it as well as the terms of reference for the internal audit committees.
· Mokhttmin and that the findings and recommendations of the study.
The evolution of the internal audit (*)
Internal Audit is one of the branches of the internal control, and enjoys the respect and confidence of both established and government agencies manage for its examination of a comprehensive and objective assessment of the activities.
The following factors have helped to evolve: -
1 -The need for a means to detect errors and fraud
Where the administrations want to make sure there are no errors or fraud in the operations and books as you wish in case Quahma / discovery early.
2 -Emergence of branches scattered geographically installations
Where he summoned the sending delegates mm all the Centre's policies to see that the branches do its job in accordance with policies set and accurately and the Secretariat of adequate and it was the internal auditor that time called the internal auditor mobile, and was not his mission limited to the search for errors and fraud, but they include the following:
a. To ensure that the foundations of a sound adjustment with the necessary proposal for improvement
B. Providing various consulting branches
C. Ensure the safety of the credit and collection operations and the movement of goods
D. Make sure there are no factors to the decrease in profits
And so it became his duties to reassure management that the policy applied in the distant branches.
3 -The need for accurate payroll journal mathematically and objectively
Where the owner of the expansion of the size of established emergence of a large gap between senior management and executive management was incumbent on the administration to rely on the data, summaries and statistics in project management and guidance, and here need administration appeared to the internal auditor who has to see how the application of the policy of top management knowing implementing staff also checks the extent of data and statistics provided to the Department of Health.
Before taking start of Audit, you make a plan how to conduct the Audit you have been assigned. You target the week areas for detailed scruitiny after analysing the finnal accounts you have been provided by your client.
After that you take start and note each and every observation in writing in Audit working papers. That is the main source helpful in praparation of your final audit report.
When yuu present the final audit report to management, your report must be supported with sold supporting documents alongwith your working papers.
So to support your report and inform the top management about the details of your reports your working papers help you out. In futue when you plan to conduct the audit of the same client, you need these papers also for better observation and planning.
Underlying details is the Purpose of Audit Working Papers, that may also be helpful.
The purpose of working papers described below, will serve as a basis for the approach taken in subsequent sections of this paper relating to the content, organization and retention of working papers. All audit documentation should be accumulated or prepared with these purposes in mind, so as to give maximum benefit to the auditors and interested third parties.
The most important purposes of audit working papers are:
Other derived purposes are:
Good working papers can contribute to the effectiveness of various administrative tasks required for the proper management of an audit assignment.
This section will outline these administrative tasks and the related contribution working papers can make towards allowing the tasks to be discharged effectively.
Documentation within the working papers of the planning decisions relating to audits in process, helps to ensure that:
Audit projects are often repeated, extended to cover additional areas or used as a basis for planning other assignments. Given the typical limitations on staff continuity, good working papers contribute to the quality of subsequent or complementary audits by providing a good starting point for succeeding auditors to:
A standardized structure for working papers helps to provide a useful framework for the organization of the audit work. Uniformity in structure enables several staff members or separate offices to work on different segments of a single assignment in a co-ordinated manner.
An organized file influences the manner by which complex systems are reviewed, helping to ensure that major areas are not overlooked and that adequate depth of coverage is provided.
A uniform file structure and method of preparing working papers provide guidance to audit staff on the job, reduce the chance of omission or of incorrect application of procedures and so contribute to the control of field work.
During an audit, considerable information is obtained, discussed or examined. It is vital that formal records be maintained rather than committing information to memory, where undoubtably some of it would be lost. In addition, audit records serve as an important basis for the auditor's understanding of the auditee's programs, objectives and activities, and as such can be used as support for orderly discussion with operating personnel.
Finally, working papers provide coherence to the numerous individual procedures comprising any given audit.
Uniform working paper formats provide an efficient means for the audit team to communicated the results of their work to reviewers. Well-organized papers facilitate review by helping the reviewer spot omissions, deviations from normal procedures and unusual problems which were encountered. Good working papers provide for meaningful communication of key results and conclusions through the summarization of individual details.
In addition to contributing to the effective management of assignments, good working papers provide a vital link between the audit examination procedures and the auditor's report. Working papers represent evidence of the work done and should provide the proof that the examination as summarized in the auditor's report did encompass the areas identified.
Working papers should provide a record of the audit procedures performed in respect of items in the report and the conclusions reached with respect to those items.
Well-structured working papers provide for effective debriefing sessions with auditees, allowing for ready access to pertinent facts and proof supporting audit report commentary.
Finally, good working papers lend themselves to reduced report-writing effort; the continuous process of summarizing and refining individual audit results keeps the assignment focused and easy to translate to report format.
Audit projects are typically followed up to ensure that corrective action was taken for reported deficiencies. Professional working papers provide background information for this task and reduce the likelihood of duplication of effort.
Follow-up can take place any time from a matter of weeks after the audit, or not until the next scheduled assignment. The follow-up action can be controlled, however, through audit working paper documentation and a B/F system.
Internal audit working papers can be used by external auditors or other interested third parties as a means of evaluating the work of internal audit and in the external reviewer's assessment of the department's system of control.
The Auditor General and Central agency evaluation groups have been the primary users of audit information in the past. With the introduction of the Access of Information Act, however, there may be increased use of working papers by the public should they exercise their rights provided by legislation.
In the eyes of third parties, working papers reflect the quality of the audit work done. Third parties should be able to satisfy themselves from the working papers that a proper audit was carried out. Working papers must be prepared with this in mind.
It is important, therefore, that the working papers provide a complete record of the examination and can be readily understood by the third parties. Adequate documentation of planning, background data of the audited entity, control systems, test procedures, results of test work, important discussions with auditees, decisions and conclusions reached, will enable reviewers of working papers to establish the adequacy and appropriateness of the audit procedures performed.
The discipline required to create good working papers provides an opportunity for new staff to learn procedures and exercise judgment in arriving at audit conclusions.
Review of the staff's efforts can assist the staff appraisal process, help determine training requirements, and identify situations where staff are ready to take on additional responsibility.
Working papers can serve as a repository of information that may assist in non-audit tasks. Audit working papers often provide convenient summarizations of auditee data and may be useful in ways unrelated to the original audit assignment. For example, models of the management control framework may be helpful to auditees as planning input for system design changes or as a training device for their staff. Also, the work done by auditors may be useful as input to other studies such as those performed by program evaluators.
Because this is part of professional diligences.
Thanks for invitation ,
Audit working papers are the documents which record all audit evidence obtained during financial statements auditing, internal management auditing, information systems auditing, and investigations. Audit working papers are used to support the audit work done in order to provide assurance that the audit was performed in accordance with the relevant auditing standards.
Audit working papers are the documents which record all audit evidence obtained during financial statements auditing, internal management auditing, information systems auditing, and investigations. Audit working papers are used to support the audit work done in order to provide assurance that the audit was performed in accordance with the relevant auditing standards. They show the audit was:
The Institute of Internal Auditors, a global professional audit standards body, has issued practice advisory 2330-1 stating the goals of audit working papers are to:[1]
Audit working papers are the property of the auditor. In order to keep professional ethic, it cannot discover to third party without consent of the client unless limited specified situations mentioned in ISA 230 Documentation and required by law, the examples are court order, for public interest and so on.
The forms of documentation may be flowchart, manual, narrative note, checklist or questionnaire.
Working papers are important because they:
Purpose of Audit Working Papers
The following are the purposes of Audit working papers:
1. Working papers represent the volume of work performed by the auditor and his staff. Hence, they enable the easy drafting and preparation of a detailed audit report.
2. The various minute details and aspects of the audit report can be well substantiated based on the findings summarized in the report.
3. They become a valuable documentary evidence for the auditor on the occasions when he has to defend himself against the charges of negligence, etc. leveled against him.
4. They enable auditor to coordinate and organize the work of audit clerks.
5. They enable the auditor to advice his client regarding the improvement of the system of internal check and efficiency of the accounting system.
6. They serve as a guide to the auditor in subsequent examinations and help the auditor to plan for the succeeding year.
7. They serve as a means to give training to the audit clerks to summarize the work done by them.
Essentials of Good Working PapersThe essentials of good working papers are as follows:
1. Working papers should be complete in all respects. They should contain all necessary information so that they may be of maximum use.
2. They should be properly organized and arranged so that one may not experience any difficulty in locating a particular matter.
3. They must contain accurate information so that they will be relied upon.
4. They should contain the facts, which are of self-explanatory.
5. The facts given in working papers should be readily apparent to the reader.
6. The relevant details should always be kept in the working papers. All irrelevant information should be kept out of the space in order to enhance their utility for the purpose for which they are kept.
7. The audit working paper files should be properly preserved and filed. These files should be serially numbered and indexed so that they may be made available whenever they are needed.
8. Paper used for the preparation of working papers should be of better quality and uniform size.
9. Sufficient space should be left after each note so that any decision taken by an auditor may be written in that space.
Preservation of Audit working papersWorking papers are to be retained in the safe custody of an auditor. The client’s staff or third parties should not have access to working papers. The documents are to be preserved for sufficient length of time in order to satisfy the needs of auditor and professional requirements of record retention. The auditor has to maintain the confidentiality of the affairs of the client.
Ownership of Audit working papersThe working papers are the matters documented by the auditor. So they are his property. Although, the client may claim them as a record of his business matters, the auditor cannot part with them as his conclusions are based on them and as they provide evidence of the audit work carried out according to the basic principles.
The legal observation in the case of Sockockinsky Vs Bright Grahame & Co. is that
“The working paper belongs to the auditor not to the client, as the auditor is an independent contractor and not the agent of the client”.
Similarly the Court of Appeal in the case of Chantrey Martin & Co. Vs Martin held that
“The working papers prepared by the auditor are the property of the auditor”.
Thus, the working papers are the property of the auditor. They are not a part of, nor substitute for, the client’s accounting records.
