You are the audit manager of Savage & Co and you are briefing your team on the approach to adopt in undertaking the review and finalisation stage of the audit. In particular, the audit senior is unsure about the steps to take in relation to uncorrected misstatements.
Required:
Describe the auditor’s responsibility in respect of misstatements. (2 marks)
Clarinet Co (Clarinet) is a computer hardware specialist and has been trading for over five years. The company is funded partly through overdrafts and loans and also by several large shareholders; the year end is 30 April 2014.
Clarinet has experienced significant growth in previous years; however, in the current year a new competitor, Drums Design Co (Drums), has entered the market and through competitive pricing has gained considerable market share from Clarinet. One of Clarinet’s larger customers has stopped trading with them and has moved its business to Drums. In addition, a number of Clarinet’s specialist developers have left the company and joined Drums. Clarinet has found it difficult to replace these employees due to the level of their skills and knowledge. Clarinet has just received notification that its main supplier who provides the company with specialist electrical equipment has ceased to trade.
Clarinet is looking to develop new products to differentiate itself from the rest of its competitors. It has approached its shareholders to finance this development; however, they declined to invest further in Clarinet. Clarinet’s loan is long term and it has met all repayments on time. The overdraft has increased significantly over the year and the directors have informed you that the overdraft facility is due for renewal next month, and they are confident it will be renewed.
The directors have produced a cash flow forecast which shows a significantly worsening position over the coming 12 months. They are confident with the new products being developed, and in light of their trading history of significant growth, believe it is unnecessary to make any disclosures in the financial statements regarding going concern.
At the year end, Clarinet received notification from one of its customers that the hardware installed by Clarinet for the customers’ online ordering system has not been operating correctly. As a result, the customer has lost significant revenue and has informed Clarinet that they intend to take legal action against them for loss of earnings. Clarinet has investigated the problem post year end and discovered that other work-in-progress is similarly affected and inventory should be written down. The finance director believes that as this misstatement was identified after the year end, it can be amended in the 2015 financial statements.
Required:
( a) Describe the procedures the auditors of Clarinet Co should undertake in relation to the uncorrected inventory misstatement identified above. (4 marks)
You are the audit manager of Violet & Co and you are currently reviewing the audit files for several of your clients for which the audit fieldwork is complete. The audit seniors have raised the following issues:
Daisy Designs Co (Daisy)
Daisy’s year end is 30 September, however, subsequent to the year end the company’s sales ledger has been corrupted by a computer virus. Daisy’s finance director was able to produce the financial statements prior to this occurring; however, the audit team has been unable to access the sales ledger to undertake detailed testing of revenue or year-end receivables.
All other accounting records are unaffected and there are no backups available for the sales ledger. Daisy’s revenue is $15•6m, its receivables are $3•4m and profit before tax is $2m.
Fuchsia Enterprises Co (Fuchsia)
Fuchsia has experienced difficult trading conditions and as a result it has lost significant market share. The cash flow forecast has been reviewed during the audit fieldwork and it shows a significant net cash outflow.
Management are confident that further funding can be obtained and so have prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis with no additional disclosures; the audit senior is highly sceptical about this.
The prior year financial statements showed a profit before tax of $1•2m; however, the current year loss before tax is $4•4m and the forecast net cash outflow for the next 12 months is $3•2m.
Required:
For each of the two issues:
(i) Discuss the issue, including an assessment of whether it is material;
(ii) Recommend procedures the audit team should undertake at the completion stage to try to resolve the issue; and
(iii) Describe the impact on the audit report if the issue remains unresolved.
Notes: 1 The total marks will be split equally between each issue.
2 Audit report extracts are NOT required. (12 marks)
You are the audit manager of Daffy & Co and you are briefing your team on the approach to adopt in undertaking the review and finalisation stage of the audit. In particular, your audit senior is unsure about the steps to take in relation to uncorrected misstatements.
During the audit of Minnie Co the following uncorrected misstatement has been noted.
The property balance was revalued during the year by an independent expert valuer and an error was made in relation to the assumptions provided to the valuer.
Required:
Explain the term ‘misstatement’ and describe the auditor’s responsibility in relation to misstatements. (4 marks)
One of your audit clients is Tye Co a company providing petrol, aviation fuel and similar oil based products to the government of the country it is based in. Although the company is not listed on any stock exchange, it does follow best practice regarding corporate governance regulations. The audit work for this year is complete, apart from the matter referred to below.
As part of Tye Co’s service contract with the government, it is required to hold an emergency inventory reserve of 6,000 barrels of aviation fuel. The inventory is to be used if the supply of aviation fuel is interrupted due to unforeseen events such as natural disaster or terrorist activity.
This fuel has in the past been valued at its cost price of $15 a barrel. The current value of aviation fuel is $120 a barrel. Although the audit work is complete, as noted above, the directors of Tye Co have now decided to show the ‘real’ value of this closing inventory in the financial statements by valuing closing inventory of fuel at market value, which does not comply with relevant accounting standards. The draft financial statements of Tye Co currently show a profit of approximately $500,000 with net assets of $170 million.
Required:
List the audit procedures and actions that you should now take in respect of the above matter. (6 marks)
You are the audit manager in JonArc & Co. One of your new clients this year is Galartha Co, a company having net assets of $15 million. The audit work has been completed, but there is one outstanding matter you are currently investigating; the directors have decided not to provide depreciation on buildings in the financial statements, although International Accounting Standards suggest that depreciation should be provided.
Required:
State the additional audit procedures and actions you should now take in respect of the above matter. (6 marks)