Auditing Financial Data and Reports

Financial statements are produced from thousands of transactions, manual adjustments and management judgements. Audit teams under time pressure often test what is easy rather than what is risky, rely on system reports without checking their completeness, and treat fraud risk as a standard paragraph rather than a real consideration. The result can be misstatements that go unnoticed, or audit files that cannot show why the conclusions were reached.

This programme follows the audit of financial data from planning to opinion. It moves through five stages: understanding the entity and assessing risk, setting materiality and planning the response, gathering evidence over key account areas, addressing fraud risk and management override, and evaluating results and reporting. Throughout, it connects the figures in the financial statements to the systems and data that produce them.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references the International Standards on Auditing issued by the IAASB, in particular ISA 315 (Revised 2019) on risk assessment, ISA 320 on materiality, ISA 330 on responses to assessed risks, ISA 500 on audit evidence, ISA 520 on analytical procedures, ISA 530 on sampling, the revised ISA 240 on fraud and ISA 700 on reporting, together with IFRS Accounting Standards, IPSAS for public sector entities and the COSO Internal Control Integrated Framework.

Decisions this programme improves. Which account balances and assertions carry significant risk; what level of materiality to set and why; when to rely on controls and when to test substantively; how much evidence is enough; how to respond to indicators of fraud; and whether identified misstatements affect the audit conclusion or report.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: the year-end audit of an organisation's revenue, purchases, payroll, fixed assets and journals. Participants assess risks, set materiality, design procedures, analyse ledger data in a spreadsheet, evaluate misstatements and draft key reporting communications.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own reporting framework, chart of accounts, systems and audit methodology, and delivered for internal audit, external audit and finance teams in the public or private sector.

Who Should Attend

Internal auditors: auditors and senior auditors who review financial data and reporting

External auditors: audit associates and seniors in audit firms

Public sector auditors: financial auditors in supreme audit institutions and government audit units

Finance professionals: accountants, financial controllers and reporting staff who prepare or review financial statements

Compliance and review staff responsible for financial controls and reporting quality

Objectives

Explain the types of audit and the objectives of a financial statement audit

Assess risks of material misstatement at financial statement and assertion level

Determine overall and performance materiality and justify the judgements made

Design an audit plan that combines tests of controls and substantive procedures

Obtain and evaluate evidence over revenue, purchases, payroll, assets and liabilities

Apply analytical procedures and audit sampling appropriately

Test journal entries and the completeness and accuracy of system-generated reports

Identify fraud risk factors and design responses to the risk of management override

Evaluate misstatements and their effect on the audit conclusion

Prepare clear audit documentation and communicate findings to management and those charged with governance

Course Outline

Planning the Audit: Understanding the Entity and Assessing Risk

Types of audit and the objectives of a financial statement audit
Financial reporting frameworks: IFRS Accounting Standards and IPSAS
Understanding the entity, its environment and its IT systems
Internal control components and their relevance to the audit
Assertions and the risk of material misstatement
Professional scepticism and professional judgement

Materiality and the Audit Response

Overall materiality, performance materiality and trivial thresholds
Designing the overall audit strategy and plan
Tests of controls versus substantive procedures
Audit sampling: statistical and non-statistical methods
Analytical procedures at planning, fieldwork and completion

Gathering Evidence Over Key Financial Areas

Revenue and receivables: recognition, cut-off and confirmations
Purchases, payables and accruals, including invoice testing
Payroll and employee costs
Property, plant and equipment and depreciation
Cash, bank reconciliations and treasury balances
Accounting estimates, provisions and related parties

Fraud Risk, Journals and Data Reliability

Fraud risk factors and the fraud triangle
Auditor responsibilities for fraud under the revised ISA 240
Management override and journal entry testing
Completeness and accuracy of system-generated reports
Data analytics for ledger and transaction testing
Responding to identified or suspected fraud

Evaluating Results and Reporting

Evaluating misstatements and their effect
Going concern and subsequent events
Audit documentation and review
Communicating deficiencies in internal control
The auditor's report and modified opinions
Action plan: improving financial audit quality in your organisation

Competencies

Risk assessment for financial statement audits

Materiality determination

Audit planning and response design

Substantive testing of key account areas

Analytical procedures and audit sampling

Journal entry testing and data reliability

Fraud risk assessment and response

Evaluation of misstatements

Audit documentation and reporting

Paris

Access Elite Academy’s complete training portfolio in Paris. As a major global business and institutional capital, the city provides a strong setting for organizations and professionals seeking expert-led learning, with upcoming scheduled courses and other programs available on request. Paris is one of Elite Academy’s international training destinations and gives organizations and professionals access to our complete portfolio of training programs across all disciplines. As a major global business and institutional capital, the city offers a professional setting for focused learning. Participants can choose from upcoming scheduled courses in Paris or request any other program from the Elite Academy portfolio to be arranged in the city, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements. Browse the upcoming schedule below or explore our training areas to identify the program that best matches your organization’s development priorities or your own professional goals.