substantive procedures

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a) See on page 86 of the notes the assertion relevant to trade receivables (because it is an account balance). It is not enough that a debt is confirmed to exist – if the customer cannot or will not pay, receivables will be overstated unless bad debts are written off and adequate allowance made for doubtful debts. Cash receipts after the reporting date provide evidence that the debt is recoverable.

For payables – see the 4th bullet on page 91 – if you had payments to suppliers in January that were not recorded as liabilities as at 31 December, that might suggest that payables are understated (i.e. not complete). Here the auditor would be looking to confirm that if an after-date payment identifies a liability that is not included in the trade payables ledger, that it is included (instead) in an accrual – see on page 93 4th bullet reference to “Goods received – not invoiced” accrual.