This 10-mark question covered the areas of assurance and materiality.

Part (a) for 5 marks required an explanation of the elements of an assurance engagement. A large -number of candidates did not attempt this question, and where it was attempted it was inadequately answered.

Most candidates who provided an answer clearly did not know what the elements of an assurance engagement were and therefore proceeded to write down anything they knew about assurance. The usual answers focused on positive and negative assurance or on the different types of assurance engagements. Only a small minority of candidates actually understood the requirement and provided valid answers.

It was fairly apparent from the answers provided that many candidates had simply not studied the area of assurance and hence were unable to score any marks at all.