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For each of the following factors, decide whether the effect on sample size is an increase, decrease or no effect.
q- increase in the number of sampling unit in the population.
Ans Given – effect on sample size- negligible,
explanation- A large Population has little, if any effect on the sample size( e.g: a sample size may be 100 regardless of whether the population contains 1600 items, 16000 or 160,000 items). For small populations, evidence is usually gathered by selective testing procedure other than audit samplingDoubt- if the overall population increases then i’m sure for a reasonable assurance auditor will increase sample size, why auditor will stick to 100.
That’s a great question and thankfully you don’t have to know or understand the Central Theorem Limit of probability theory (but I think it’s great!)
A sample size of 30 is generally considered sufficient for the theory to hold true. Auditor’s are actually “playing safe” is they use sample sizes of 60, and 100 is often considered excessive.
This is what is says in Appendix 2 of ISA 530 Audit Sampling:
For large populations, the actual size of the population has little,
if any, effect on sample size. For small populations however,
audit sampling may not be as efficient as alternative means of
obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence.
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