Audit documentation
Audit documentation refers to the records or documentation of procedures that auditors performed, the audit evidence they obtained, and the conclusion made by them based on the evidence obtained. Audit documentation is sometimes called audit working papers or working papers. Internal control documents that auditors prepare in MS Word, MS Excel, or other application is the example of audit documentation. Another example that describes audit documentation is the working paper that the auditor prepares to document and test depreciation expenses.
Key Information In Audit Documentation:
Audit documentation is significant for auditors, especially in the audit quality control areas. It is required by ISA that the audit documentation should be prepared in a form that others senior auditor who was not involved with the audit engagement previously could understand the work that was performed when he reviews the documents. The following is the key information in the audit documentation: The nature of information or data that is prepared or documents.
Timing includes the audit period that covers the date prepared. Name of the auditor who prepares audit working papers. The extent of the audit procedures performed to comply with the ISAs and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The evidence that the auditor obtains, the procedures they use for testing, and the testing result should be properly documented in the audit working papers. This is to ensure that the reviewer can easily perform the quality review and to prove that the relevant standards are implementing. During an audit, the auditor might find significant mater related to financial statements, their ethics, and their process. The auditor should document these things. Some testing or sampling require auditors to use their professional judgment and its importance to document those judgments[Wikiaccounting].
Audit documentation records procedures performed, evidence obtained, and conclusions reached as part of an audit. The proper preparation of audit documentation is critical for several reasons, including the following:
It can be used as a defense if the auditor is ever accused of negligence. It is easier for a reviewer to examine. It represents a better level of quality control over an audit. It shows auditors in later years how the audit was conducted. It can be a training tool for junior auditors[AccountingTools].
Audit documentation definition. AccountingTools. https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/audit-documentation
Audit documentation: Definition, explanation, example and objective. Wikiaccounting. Retrieved from: https://www.wikiaccounting.com/audit-documentation/.