This 20-mark question was based on an audit firm Violet & Co (Violet) and its two clients Daisy Designs Co (Daisy) and Fuchsia Enterprises Co (Fuchsia) and tested candidates’ knowledge of written representations, evidence and audit reports.

Part (a) for 5 marks required an explanation of the purpose and procedures for obtaining written representations.

This question was unrelated to the scenario and was knowledge based. Performance was unsatisfactory on this question.

A majority of candidates were able to provide answers on the purpose of a written representation. However a significant minority strayed from the question requirement and focused on what the audit report implications were if management refused to provide a representation; this was not required and scored no marks.

Candidates seemed to confuse written representations with third party confirmations such as bank letters and receivables circularisations. Therefore when discussing the procedures for obtaining a representation these candidates were unable to provide valid answers.