Tommy O'Connelll Case Study
1. Compare and contrast the professional roles of an audit senior and a staff accountant. In your analysis, consider the different responsibilities assigned to each role, the job-related stresses that individuals in the two roles face, and how each role contributes to the successful completion of an audit engagement. Which of these two roles is (a) more important and (b) more stressful? Defend your choices.
An audit senior leads client audit engagements, which include planning, executing, directing, and completing the audit of the financial statements. The following are some of the professional roles of an audit senior on an engagement:
• Researching and analyzing financial statement and audit related issues.
• Acquiring a working knowledge of the client’s business.
• Interacting with key client’s management to gather information, resolve problems, and verify audit evidence.
• Recognizing critical issues and developing necessary skills needed to solve problems.
• Planning audit procedures, executing the procedures, and allocating related jobs to the staff accountants.
• Supervising and training new-seniors and staff accountants.
• Preparing for quick and timely evaluations of staff accountants.
The Staff Accountant has the most common duties and responsibilities typically relating to low risk audit areas:
• Acquiring a working knowledge of the client’s business.
• Assisting the audit seniors when he or she is planning the audit procedures.
• Executing the audit procedures which are assigned to the staff accountants.
• Interviewing audit client’s employees, reviewing related documents, gathering evidence, and verifying the management’s assertions.
• Reporting the process of their assigned job to the audit senior in a timely manner.
To accomplish these roles, both the audit senior and staff accountant should obtain a thorough understanding of PCAOB, GAAS, GAAP, SEC regulations and the audit firm’s common audit procedures and techniques.
An audit senior leads client audit engagements, which include planning, executing, directing, and completing the audit of the financial statements. The following are some of the professional roles of an audit senior on an engagement:
• Researching and analyzing financial statement and audit related issues.
• Acquiring a working knowledge of the client’s business.
• Interacting with key client’s management to gather information, resolve problems, and verify audit evidence.
• Recognizing critical issues and developing necessary skills needed to solve problems.
• Planning audit procedures, executing the procedures, and allocating related jobs to the staff accountants.
• Supervising and training new-seniors and staff accountants.
• Preparing for quick and timely evaluations of staff accountants.
The Staff Accountant has the most common duties and responsibilities typically relating to low risk audit areas:
• Acquiring a working knowledge of the client’s business.
• Assisting the audit seniors when he or she is planning the audit procedures.
• Executing the audit procedures which are assigned to the staff accountants.
• Interviewing audit client’s employees, reviewing related documents, gathering evidence, and verifying the management’s assertions.
• Reporting the process of their assigned job to the audit senior in a timely manner.
To accomplish these roles, both the audit senior and staff accountant should obtain a thorough understanding of PCAOB, GAAS, GAAP, SEC regulations and the audit firm’s common audit procedures and techniques.