The use of ratios and comparisons in auditing, Ken Garrett

In the F8 exam you can be asked to compute and interpret key ratios used in analytical procedures at both the audit planning stage and when collecting audit evidence. Ratios and comparisons can be used to identify where the accounts might be wrong and where additional auditing effort should be spent. [Read more…]

I have regularly lectured on ACCA Paper F8. Obviously there is considerable technical content, but I never seek to be amazed by the poor answers that many students submit to even reasonably straightforward questions. [Read more…]

The purpose of audit tests

The purpose of audit tests, or audit procedures, is to allow the auditor to collect sufficient appropriate audit evidence to be able to conclude with reasonable assurance that the financial statements (FS) are free of material misstatement. If sufficient appropriate audit evidence cannot be obtained, or the evidence points to a material misstatement in the FS, the auditor will have to issue a modified audit opinion. [Read more…]

• put very simply, the way to approach the F8 exam is to “read, plan, read again and then write”
• work on the principle that each valid, relevant point that you make will score a mark
• and the more valid points you make, the more marks you will score!
• common sense? I should say so!

[Read more…]

The Clarified Auditing Standards

Steve Collings presents a summary of the main changes to come out of the audit clarity project.

In 2004, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) undertook a programme to enhance the clarity of its ISAs. The IAASB said that the overall aim of its clarity project was to make the ISAs more easily understandable to enable them to be more consistently applied, which would in turn improve audit quality on a worldwide level. [Read more…]

F8 examiner’s comments

After each exam, the examiner makes very comprehensive comments on candidates’ performance. Many comments are very question specific and are available in full on the ACCA website. Here is our distillation of the recurring, more general comments and complaints (our emphasis of certain key words). [Read more…]