Chapter 7

Which of the following generally provides the most reliable evidence? A) Confirmations B) Recalculation C) Reperformance D) Observations

A) Confirmations

________ is the auditor's examination of the client's documents and records to substantiate that the information is included in the financial statements. A) Inspection B) Recalculation C) Observation D) Verification

A) Inspection

When the auditor uses the audit procedure vouching she is primarily concerned with which of the following audit objectives when testing classes of transactions? A) Occurrence B) Completeness C) Authorization D) Classification

A) Occurrence

Which of the following forms of evidence would be least persuasive in forming the auditor's opinion about marketable securities and other investments held by the company? A) Responses to auditor's questions by the president and controller regarding the investments account B) Correspondence with a stockbroker regarding the quantity of client's investments held in street name by the broker C) Minutes of the board of directors authorizing the purchase of stock as an investment D) The auditor's count of marketable securities

A) Responses to auditor's questions by the president and controller regarding the investments account

Which of the following statements regarding the relevance of evidence is correct? A) To be relevant, evidence must pertain to the audit objective of the evidence. B) To be relevant, evidence must be persuasive. C) To be relevant, evidence must relate to multiple audit objectives. D) To be relevant, evidence must be derived from a system including effective internal controls

A) To be relevant, evidence must pertain to the audit objective of the evidence

The permanent files included as part of audit documentation do not normally include: A) a copy of the current and prior years' audit programs. B) copies of articles of incorporation, bylaws and contracts. C) information related to the understanding of internal control. D) results of analytical procedures from prior years

A) a copy of the current and prior years' audit programs

An important benefit of industry comparisons is as: A) an aid to understanding the client's business. B) an indicator of errors. C) an indicator of fraud. D) a least-cost indicator for audit procedures

A) an aid to understanding the client's business

The evaluations of financial information through analysis of plausible relationships among financial and nonfinancial data is the definition of: A) analytical procedures. B) tests of transactions. C) tests of balances. D) auditing.

A) analytical procedures.

Evidence is usually more persuasive for balance sheet accounts when it is obtained: A) as close to the balance sheet date as possible. B) only from transactions occurring on the balance sheet date. C) from various times throughout the client's year. D) from the time period when transactions in that account were most numerous during the fiscal period.

A) as close to the balance sheet date as possible

A benefit obtained from using industry averages is that it provides a(n): A) benchmark to compare the company's results. B) indication where errors exist in the statements. C) benchmark to be used in evaluating a client's budgets. D) comparison of "what is" with "what should be."

A) benchmark to compare the company's results

Physical examination: A) is a direct means of verifying that an asset really exists. B) is sufficient evidence to verify that the existing assets are owned by the client. C) can be used for both tangible assets and documents. D) is not generally a reliable type of audit evidence.

A) is a direct means of verifying that an asset really exists

Audit documentation: A) should identify the items tested when the audit procedures involve sampling of transactions or balances. B) does not aid in the preparation of the tax return since accounting and tax rules differ. C) is another term for the audit program. D) should not be given to anyone outside the audit firm, even if a subpoena has been issued.

A) should identify the items tested when the audit procedures involve sampling of transactions or balances.

Audit evidence obtained directly by the auditor will not be reliable if: A) the auditor lacks the competence to evaluate the evidence. B) it is provided by the client's attorney. C) the client denies its veracity. D) it is impossible for the auditor to obtain additional corroboratory evidence

A) the auditor lacks the competence to evaluate the evidence

When using analytical procedures: A) unusual fluctuations occur when significant unexpected differences between the current year's data and other data used in comparisons are found. B) and no unusual fluctuations are noted, the possibility of material misstatement is increased. C) "attention directing" indicates an area where fraud has occurred. D) and no unusual fluctuations are noted, tests of details of balances can be eliminated,

A) unusual fluctuations occur when significant unexpected differences between the current year's data and other data used in comparisons are found

When preparing and organizing audit files: A) The rules established by the SEC and PCAOB must be followed. B) A lead schedule contains the detailed accounts from the general ledger making up the line item on the trial balance. C) A working trial balance is considered part of the permanent file. D) The audit program is not part of the audit files

B) A lead schedule contains the detailed accounts from the general ledger making up the line item on the trial balance

For audit evidence to be compelling to the auditor it must be sufficient and appropriate. Which statement below is not correct regarding the appropriateness of audit evidence? A) The more effective the internal control system, the more assurance it provides the auditor about the reliability of financial reporting by the client. B) An auditor's opinion, to be economically useful and profitable to the auditing firm needs to be formed within a reasonable time and based on evidence obtained that assures profits for the auditing firm. C) Evidence obtained from independent sources outside the entity is generally more reliable than evidence secured solely within the entity. D) The independent auditor's direct personal knowledge, obtained through inquiry, observation and inspection, is generally more persuasive than information obtained indirectly

B) An auditor's opinion, to be economically useful and profitable to the auditing firm needs to be formed within a reasonable time and based on evidence obtained that assures profits for the auditing firm

Calculating the gross margin for the current year under audit as a percent of sales and comparing it with previous years is what type of evidence? A) Physical examination B) Analytical procedures C) Observation D) Inquiry

B) Analytical procedures

When the auditor uses tracing as an audit procedure for tests of transactions she is primarily concerned with which audit objective? A) Occurrence B) Completeness C) Cutoff D) Classification

B) Completeness

Audit evidence has two primary qualities for the auditor; relevance and reliability. Given the choices below, which provides the auditor with the most reliable audit evidence? A) General ledger account balances B) Confirmation of accounts receivable balance received from a customer C) Internal memo explaining the issuance of a credit memo D) Copy of month-end adjusting entries

B) Confirmation of accounts receivable balance received from a customer

Which of the following statements is not a correct statement regarding audit evidence? A) Evidence obtained from an independent source outside the client organization is more reliable than that obtained from within. B) Documentary evidence is more reliable when it is received by the auditor indirectly rather than directly. C) Documents that originate outside the company are considered more reliable than those that originate within the client's organization. D) External evidence, such as communications from banks, is generally regarded as more reliable than answers obtained from inquiries of the client

B) Documentary evidence is more reliable when it is received by the auditor indirectly rather than directly

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the reliability of evidence? A) Effectiveness of client internal controls B) Education of auditor C) Independence of information provider D) Timeliness

B) Education of auditor

Due professional care, the third general standard, is concerned with what is done by the independent auditor and how well it is done. For example, due care in the matter of audit documentation requires that audit documentation of the evidence gathered by the auditor meets which of the following criteria? A) Workpapers are prepared in sufficient detail so that they can be given to the client for future reference. B) The content is sufficient to provide support for the auditor's opinion, including the auditor's representation as to compliance with auditing standards. C) Audit evidence is principally gathered to determine if the client's financial statements, as prepared by management, can be relied upon to make managerial decisions about the firm. D) Audit evidence as displayed in the workpapers is primarily performed to protect the auditing firm in the case of a lawsuit by investors.

B) The content is sufficient to provide support for the auditor's opinion, including the auditor's representation as to compliance with auditing standards

Which of the following statements is not correct? A) It is possible to vary the sample size from one unit to 100% of the items in the population. B) The decision of how many items to test should not be influenced by the increased costs of performing the additional tests. C) The decision of how many items to test must be made by the auditor for each audit procedure. D) The sample size for any given procedure is likely to vary from audit to audit.

B) The decision of how many items to test should not be influenced by the increased costs of performing the additional tests

Which of the following is the most objective type of evidence? A) A letter written by the client's attorney discussing the likely outcome of outstanding lawsuits B) The physical count of securities and cash C) Inquiries of the credit manager about the collectability of noncurrent accounts receivable D) Observation of cobwebs on some inventory bins

B) The physical count of securities and cash

You are auditing the company's purchasing process for goods and services. You are primarily concerned with the company not recording all purchase transactions. Which audit procedure below would be the most effective audit procedure in this case? A) Vouching from the accounts payable account to the vendor invoices B) Tracing vendor invoices to recorded amounts in the accounts payable account C) Confirmation accounts payable recorded amounts D) Reconciling the accounts payable subsidiary ledger to the accounts payable account

B) Tracing vendor invoices to recorded amounts in the accounts payable account

Which of the following is not one of the four decisions about what evidence to gather and how much of it to accumulate? A) Which audit procedures to use B) Which accounts must agree to the general ledger C) When to perform the procedures D) What sample size to select for a given procedure

B) Which accounts must agree to the general ledger

When practical and reasonable, U.S. auditing standards require the confirmation of: A) individual transactions between organizations, such as sales transactions. B) accounts receivable. C) fixed asset additions. D) payroll expenses

B) accounts receivable

Auditors may decide to replace tests of details with analytical procedures when possible because the: A) analytical procedures are more reliable. B) analytical procedures are considerably less expensive. C) analytical procedures are more persuasive. D) tests of details are more difficult to interpret

B) analytical procedures are considerably less expensive

A(n) ________ is the detailed instruction that explains the audit evidence to be obtained during the audit. A) audit objectives B) audit procedure C) audit assertion D) audit program

B) audit procedure

An example of an external document that provides reliable information for the auditor is: A) employees' time reports. B) bank statements. C) purchase order for company purchases. D) carbon copies of checks

B) bank statements

The Auditing Standards Board has concluded that analytical procedures are so important that they are required during: A) planning and test of control phases. B) planning and completion phases. C) test of control and completion phases. D) planning, test of control, and completion phases

B) planning and completion phases

Appropriateness of evidence is a measure of the: A) quantity of evidence. B) quality of evidence. C) sufficiency of evidence. D) meaning of evidence

B) quality of evidence

To be considered reliable evidence, confirmations must be controlled by: A) the client's employee responsible for accounts receivable. B) the external auditor. C) the client's internal audit department. D) the client's controller or CFO.

B) the external auditor

The auditor is concerned that a client is failing to bill customers for shipments. An audit procedure that would gather relevant evidence would be to: A) select a sample of duplicate sales invoices and trace each to related shipping documents. B) trace a sample of shipping documents to related duplicate sales invoices. C) trace a sample of Sales Journal entries to the Accounts Receivable subsidiary ledger. D) compare the total of the Schedule of Accounts Receivable with the balance of the Accounts Receivable account in the general ledger

B) trace a sample of shipping documents to related duplicate sales invoices

Which of the following statements is true? A) Evidence must be relevant to all of the audit objectives. B) If evidence is subjective, it cannot be reliable. C) Evidence obtained directly by the auditor may not be reliable if the auditor lacks the qualifications to evaluate the evidence. D) The persuasiveness of evidence can be evaluated after considering its sufficiency

C) Evidence obtained directly by the auditor may not be reliable if the auditor lacks the qualifications to evaluate the evidence

Which of the following best describes one of the primary objectives of audit documentation? A) Defend against claims of a deficient audit. B) Provide a basis for reviewing the work of subordinates. C) Provide reasonable assurance that the audit was conducted in accordance with auditing standards. D) Provide additional support of recorded amounts to the client

C) Provide reasonable assurance that the audit was conducted in accordance with auditing standards.

Which of the following is not a correct combination of terms and related type of audit evidence? A) Inquire — inquiries of client B) Count — physical examination C) Recompute — documentation D) Read — documentation

C) Recompute — documentation

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding audit evidence? A) A large sample of evidence provided by an independent party is always considered persuasive evidence. B) A small sample of only one or two pieces of highly appropriate evidence is always considered persuasive evidence. C) The auditor must obtain a sufficient amount of relevant and reliable evidence to form an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements. D) Evidence is usually more reliable for balance sheet accounts when it is obtained within six months of the balance sheet date.

C) The auditor must obtain a sufficient amount of relevant and reliable evidence to form an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements

Which of the following statements is most correct regarding the primary purpose of audit procedures? A) To detect all errors or fraudulent activities as well as illegal activities B) To comply with auditing standards promulgated by the PCAOB for publicly held clients C) To gather corroborative audit evidence about management's assertions regarding the client's financial statements D) To determine the amount of errors in the balance sheet accounts in order to adjust the accounts to actual

C) To gather corroborative audit evidence about management's assertions regarding the client's financial statements

Two determinants of the persuasiveness of evidence are: A) competence and sufficiency. B) relevance and reliability. C) appropriateness and sufficiency. D) independence and effectiveness

C) appropriateness and sufficiency

Audit documents: A) are kept by the client for easy reference for their accounting staff. B) should be considered as a substitute for the clients accounting records. C) are designed to facilitate the review and supervision of the work performed by the audit team by a reviewing partner. D) prepared during the engagement are the property of the client once the audit bill is paid

C) are designed to facilitate the review and supervision of the work performed by the audit team by a reviewing partner

When making decisions about evidence for a given audit, the auditor's goal is to obtain a sufficient amount of timely, reliable evidence that is relevant to the information being verified. In addition, the goal of audit efficiency is to gather and evaluate the information: A) no matter the cost involved in obtaining such evidence. B) even if cost is irrelevant to the auditor, because they bill the client for costs incurred. C) at the lowest possible total cost. D) at the cost suggested in the engagement letter

C) at the lowest possible total cost

Evidence is generally considered appropriate when: A) it has been obtained by random selection. B) there is enough of it to afford a reasonable basis for an opinion on financial statements. C) it is relevant to the audit objective being tested. D) it consists of written statements made by managers of the company under audit.

C) it is relevant to the audit objective being tested.

The permanent audit file would usually include the following: A) client's working trial balance B) summary of the risk assessment procedures performed C) organizational chart of the company's employees D) summary of the auditors test of controls for the current years audit

C) organizational chart of the company's employees

Given the economic and time constraints in which auditors can collect evidence about management assertions about the financial statements, the auditor normally gathers evidence that is: A) irrefutable. B) conclusive. C) persuasive. D) completely convincing

C) persuasive

The two characteristics of the appropriateness of evidence are: A) relevance and timeliness. B) relevance and accuracy. C) relevance and reliability. D) reliability and accuracy

C) relevance and reliability

An example of a document the auditor receives from the client, but which was prepared by someone outside the client's organization, is a: A) confirmation. B) sales invoice. C) vendor invoice. D) bank reconciliation

C) vendor invoice

When auditors use documentation to support recorded transactions and amounts, the process is usually called: A) tracing. B) confirmations. C) vouching. D) reperformance.

C) vouching

When the auditor develops supporting evidence for amounts posted to account balances with documentary evidence, that process is called: A) inquiry. B) confirmation. C) vouching. D) physical examination

C) vouching

Which of the following discoveries through the use of analytical procedures would most likely indicate a relatively high risk of financial failure? A) A decline in gross margin percentages B) An increase in the balance in fixed assets C) An increase in the ratio of allowance for uncollectible accounts to gross accounts receivable, while at the same time accounts receivable turnover also decreased D) A higher than normal ratio of long-term debt to net worth as well as a lower than average ratio of profits to total assets

D) A higher than normal ratio of long-term debt to net worth as well as a lower than average ratio of profits to total assets

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding confirmations? A) Confirmations can be in oral or written form. B) Electronic confirmations are not acceptable under generally accepted auditing standards. C) Confirmations are generally used in the audit of fixed asset additions. D) Auditors consider alternative evidence available when determining if confirmations should be used.

D) Auditors consider alternative evidence available when determining if confirmations should be used

Which of the following statements relating to the competence of evidential matter is always true? A) Evidence from outside an enterprise is always reliable. B) Accounting data developed under satisfactory conditions of internal control is not reliable. C) Oral representations made by management are not reliable evidence. D) Evidence must be both reliable and relevant to be considered appropriate

D) Evidence must be both reliable and relevant to be considered appropriate

Determine which of the following is most correct regarding the reliability of audit evidence. A) Information that is indirectly obtained from external sources is the most reliable audit evidence. B) Reliability of audit evidence is dependent upon the evidence being subjective. C) Reliability of evidence refers to the amount of evidence obtained. D) If internal controls are effective, evidence obtained is more reliable than when the controls are not effective

D) If internal controls are effective, evidence obtained is more reliable than when the controls are not effective

Which of the following statements regarding the appropriateness of evidence is correct? A) The effectiveness of a client's internal control has no influence on the reliability of most types of evidence. B) Analytical procedures will be reliable evidence even if the client's internal controls are weak. C) One type of evidence is generally sufficient by itself to provide appropriate evidence. D) The objectivity of evidence obtained through inspection is high.

D) The objectivity of evidence obtained through inspection is high

The auditor must gather sufficient and appropriate evidence during the course of the audit. Sufficient evidence must: A) be well documented and cross-referenced in the audit documents. B) be based on sources that are external to company. C) provide evidence that prove or disprove an audit objective/assertion. D) be persuasive enough to enable the auditor to issue an audit report

D) be persuasive enough to enable the auditor to issue an audit report

"Physical examination" is the inspection or count by the auditor of items such as: A) cash, inventory, and payroll timecards. B) cash, inventory, canceled checks, and sales documents. C) cash, inventory, canceled checks, and tangible fixed assets. D) cash, inventory, securities, notes receivable, and tangible fixed assets

D) cash, inventory, securities, notes receivable, and tangible fixed assets