ACH Guides Planning External Audit WEB
Planning the external audit
The audit committee guide series
“Effective audit committees are critical to the quality of financial reporting and the proper conduct of business. This guide is one of a series that is meant to help audit committees meet their oversight and fiduciary responsibilities.” – Trent Gazzaway, National Managing Partner of Audit Services
Contents
2 Role of the external auditor
3 Audit planning
4 Financial statement assertions
6 Designing audits
7 Judging materiality
9 Assessing audit risk
10 Evaluating risk of material misstatement
11 Overseeing plan and team
12 Performing audit tests
13 Using the work of others
The audit committee guide series has been adapted from The Audit
Committee Handbook, Fifth Edition, published by John Wiley & Sons and available for purchase at www.
GrantThornton.com/ACHandbook
and through major online booksellers and bookstores nationwide.
14 Evaluating the audit plan
15 More guidance
17 Grant Thornton’s audit services
20 Suggested reading
21 Offices of Grant Thornton LLP
When it comes to an external audit, the audit committee has responsibility to ensure auditors’ work is done right and with integrity.
In the U.S., the audit committee is charged with overseeing the integrity of the financial reporting process and the external auditor. To fulfill these responsibilities, audit committee members must be prepared to evaluate and oversee both the external audit plan and the external auditor. That responsibility extends to appointing, compensating and overseeing the work of any registered public accounting firm employed by the company. During the audit engagement, external auditors report directly to the audit committee.
To fulfill their duty to oversee the external audit function, audit committee members must be familiar with how auditors consider management assertions contained in the financial statements, and the planning process auditors go through prior to issuing an opinion. The remainder of this issue of the
The audit committee guide series
“Effective audit committees are critical to the quality of financial reporting and the proper conduct of business. This guide is one of a series that is meant to help audit committees meet their oversight and fiduciary responsibilities.” – Trent Gazzaway, National Managing Partner of Audit Services
Contents
2 Role of the external auditor
3 Audit planning
4 Financial statement assertions
6 Designing audits
7 Judging materiality
9 Assessing audit risk
10 Evaluating risk of material misstatement
11 Overseeing plan and team
12 Performing audit tests
13 Using the work of others
The audit committee guide series has been adapted from The Audit
Committee Handbook, Fifth Edition, published by John Wiley & Sons and available for purchase at www.
GrantThornton.com/ACHandbook
and through major online booksellers and bookstores nationwide.
14 Evaluating the audit plan
15 More guidance
17 Grant Thornton’s audit services
20 Suggested reading
21 Offices of Grant Thornton LLP
When it comes to an external audit, the audit committee has responsibility to ensure auditors’ work is done right and with integrity.
In the U.S., the audit committee is charged with overseeing the integrity of the financial reporting process and the external auditor. To fulfill these responsibilities, audit committee members must be prepared to evaluate and oversee both the external audit plan and the external auditor. That responsibility extends to appointing, compensating and overseeing the work of any registered public accounting firm employed by the company. During the audit engagement, external auditors report directly to the audit committee.
To fulfill their duty to oversee the external audit function, audit committee members must be familiar with how auditors consider management assertions contained in the financial statements, and the planning process auditors go through prior to issuing an opinion. The remainder of this issue of the