Course Catalogue

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The course provides students with a critical introduction to the understanding of modern auditing theory and practice. It also provides them with the technical and intellectual skills on how to plan and carry out the financial statements audit engagement.

Lectures: 10 x 2-hour lecture (one a week for ten weeks).

Tutorials: 5 x 1-hour tutorial (tutorials are held at various times and can be selected on MyCampus)

Normally a grade D3 or above in Financial Accounting 2 or equivalent.

Auditing Theory & Practice (superseded)

ILO

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the statutory audit assurance cycle, from planning and evidence gathering to completion and reporting so as to enable students to decide on the appropriate course of action related to audit evidence and audit opinion. This entails understanding of key concepts and techniques relating to the provision of statutory assurance and the impact of risk and sampling on auditing, and the internal control systems and their limitations, as well as professional ethics and legal liabilities.  The course also aims to develop students' critical thinking regarding fraud detection, audit quality, audit expectations and the current role of audit in society.

 On completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the role and responsibilities of the external auditor, the audit process and the evidential base for making audit judgments, including broader assurance assignments such as environmental audits.

2. Appraise the legislative and professional provisions (including the international auditing standards and ethical guidelines) that constitute the regulatory framework for the conduct of external auditing.

3. Formulate how the auditor obtains an understanding of the entity and its environment, when planning and assessing the risk of the audit.

4. Explain how audit assertions and procedures can be used to collect sufficient relevant reliable audit evidence.

5. Critically analyse current topical issues in the practice of audit.

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