understanding all the nuances of the who, what, and when keeps your audit team on track.
by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future
taking the time to lay out a detailed who, what, and when plan for all audit staff assigned to an engagement will help ensure that fieldwork is successfully completed. as firms had to develop remote auditing processes in the covid-19 era, many have already been deploying this.
more: planning lays the foundation of audit relevance | how do we drive relevance in audit? | before the audit: more than just planning | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | four basic understandings every auditor must master
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here are the details for understanding each of the three audit w’s to keep your audit process streamlined:
know the who
first, the in-charge needs to know “who” is assigned to the audit and how much time each staff is assigned. adding in the experience and skill levels of the assigned staff, the in-charge can determine whether the time and skill levels appear adequate for the audit’s complexity. if not, the in-charge should try to rectify the situation, or there will be little chance of completing the audit in the field.
know the what
the second part of the plan deals with the “what.” work is typically assigned by section, and the most difficult sections are assigned to the in-charge. that means that during fieldwork, that person is focused on completing that section and has little time to help the newer staff members. also, typically, the easiest areas are audited first, which leaves the harder areas to be completed back in the office. to have the best chance of completing the audit in the field, the team should plan to work on the most difficult areas first.
instead of assigning the work by section, consider the number of steps and the difficulty of those steps in each section. for example, auditing the inventory at a manufacturer requires a significant amount of vouching to source documents. this task could be assigned to the newer staff members, and the assertions requiring experienced professional judgment could be carried out simultaneously by the in-charge.
this frees up the in-charge to supervise, review and keep the audit going smoothly. this also makes for a more effective learning environment for the new person because they’re working together with the more experienced person in the same area. it’s easier for the in-charge to answer questions because he or she doesn’t have to pull their head out of whatever other area they’re working on. remember that the goal is to complete all the difficult sections first while you’re still in the field and when getting answers from the client is easier.
know the when
the third part of the fieldwork plan addresses “by when.” developing a specific timeline in terms of hours and days for completing procedures and audit areas will help keep the entire team focused and accountable for the work expected of them. following this plan and managing against it will allow the in-charge to know the status of the engagement at all times and is essential for completing the work in the field.