Exam 1: CPA Auditing and Attestation Exam

In the first audit of a client, an auditor was not able to gather sufficient evidence about the consistent application of accounting principles between the current and prior year, as well as the amounts of assets or liabilities at the beginning of the current year. This was due to the client's record retention policies. If the amounts in question could materially affect current operating results, the auditor would:

An annual shareholders' report includes audited financial statements and contains supplementary information required by GAAP. Is it permissible for the auditor to report on such information?

This question will represent a statement, question, excerpt, or comment taken from various parts of an auditor's documentation file. Letter choices A-P represent a list of the likely sources of the statement, question, excerpt, or comment. Select, as the best answer for each item, the most likely source. Select only one source for each item. Nothing came to our attention that caused us to believe that at October 31, 20XX, there was any change in the capital stock, increase in long-term debt, or decrease in consolidated net current assets or stockholders' equity as compared with the amounts shown in the September 30, 20XX unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Which of the following comparisons would an auditor most likely make in evaluating an entity's costs and expenses?

A successor auditor should make specific and reasonable inquiries of the predecessor auditor regarding the predecessor's:

An auditor should trace bank transfers for the last part of the audit period and first part of the subsequent period to detect whether:

Which of the following circumstances most likely would cause an auditor to suspect that there are material misstatements in an entity's financial statements?

When the shipping department returns nonconforming goods to a vendor, the purchasing department should send to the accounting department the:

This question consists of an item pertaining to possible deficiencies in an accountant's review report. Jordan & Stone, CPAs, audited the financial statements of Tech Co., a nonissuer, for the year ended December 31, 20X1, and expressed an unqualified opinion. For the year ended December 31, 20X2, Tech issued comparative financial statements. Jordan & Stone reviewed Tech's 20X2 financial statements and Kent, an assistant on the engagement, drafted the accountants' review report below. Land, the engagement supervisor, decided not to reissue the prior year's auditors' report, but instructed Kent to include a separate paragraph in the current year's review report describing the responsibility assumed for the prior year's audited financial statements. This is an appropriate reporting procedure. Land reviewed Kent's draft and indicated in the Supervisor's Review Notes below that there were several deficiencies in Kent's draft. Accountant's Review Report We have reviewed and audited the accompanying balance sheets of Tech Co. as of December 31, 20X2 and 20X1, and the related statements of income, retained earnings, and cash flows for the years then ended, in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and generally accepted auditing standards. All information included in these financial statements is the representation of the management of Tech Co. A review consists principally of inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures applied to financial data. It is substantially less in scope than an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements taken as a whole. Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial statements. Because of the inherent limitations of a review engagement, this report is intended for the information of management and should not be used for any other purpose. The financial statements for the year ended December 31, 20X1, were audited by us and our report was dated March 2, 20X2. We have no responsibility for updating that report for events and circumstances occurring after that date. Jordan and Stone, CPAs March 1, 20X3 Supervisor's Review Notes There should be no comparison of the scope of a review to an audit in the second (scope) paragraph.

Which of the following procedures would an auditor most likely perform in obtaining evidence about subsequent events?

Kell engaged March, CPA, to submit to Kell a written personal financial plan containing unaudited personal financial statements. March anticipates omitting certain disclosures required by GAAP because the engagement's sole purpose is to assist Kell in developing a personal financial plan. For March to be exempt from complying with the requirements of SSARS 1, Compilation and Review of Financial Statements, Kell is required to agree that the:

Which of the following best describes an auditor's responsibility with respect to communicating internal control deficiencies of issuers?

Which of the following factors should an auditor consider in making a judgment about whether a control deficiency is a significant deficiency?

A CPA is required to comply with the provisions of Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services when:

When auditing related party transactions, an auditor places primary emphasis on:

Reference in a principal auditor's report to the fact that part of the audit was performed by another auditor most likely would be an indication of the:

This question will represent a statement, question, excerpt, or comment taken from various parts of an auditor's documentation file. Letter choices A-P represent a list of the likely sources of the statement, question, excerpt, or comment. Select, as the best answer for each item, the most likely source. Select only one source for each item. Several employees have disabled the anti-virus detection software on their PCs because the software slows the processing of data and occasionally rings false alarms. The company should obtain anti-virus software that runs continuously at all system entry points and that cannot be disabled by unauthorized personnel.

Which of the following audit techniques most likely would provide an auditor with the most assurance about the effectiveness of the operation of internal control?

A retail entity uses electronic data interchange (EDI) in executing and recording most of its purchase transactions. The entity's auditor recognizes that the documentation of the transactions will be retained for only a short period of time. To compensate for this limitation, the auditor most likely would:

Jones, CPA, is auditing the financial statements of XYZ Retailing, Inc. What assurance does Jones provide that direct effect illegal acts that are material to XYZ's financial statements, and illegal acts that have a material, but indirect effect on the financial statements will be detected?