S22: Audit Completion

Audit Completion  Audit completion procedures are to ensure that  competent, relevant and reasonable audit evidence was obtained to form an opinion on the appropriate form of audit certificate;  audit evidence has been adequately documented;  audit opinion has been correctly expressed and the audit report conforms the reporting standards;  The language of the report is proper and objective;  The report has been drafted in such a way as to render itself readable to even a layman without specialised knowledge of auditing and accounting.  The report should conform to all reporting requirements line clarity, brevity, lucidity etc.

Overall review of the financial statements  In the overall review of financial statements the audit team should consider whether:  the financial statements comply with requirements of applicable statutes, rules and instructions, and all disclosure requirements;  accounting policies conform to the relevant Accounting Standards, Rules and instructions and have been properly disclosed, consistently applied and are appropriate to the auditee;

Overall review of the financial statements – Contd. In the review the audit team should consider whether:  the financial statements as a whole are consistent with the audit team’s knowledge of the auditee and the results of audit procedures;  the manner of disclosure within the financial statements is fair / proper;  there are new factors that may affect the presentation of, or disclosures in, the financial statements; and  the presentation adopted in the financial statements may have been unduly influenced by the management's desire to present matters in a favourable or unfavourable light.

Review of subsequent events  The audit team should consider the effect of subsequent events on the financial statements between the period end and the date of the audit certificate.  The audit team should perform audit procedures to obtain assurance that all material subsequent events up to the date of the audit certificate have been identified and that appropriate adjustments or disclosures have been made in the financial statements.

Going concern  At the completion stage of audit, the audit team should ensure that it has considered the auditee’s ability to continue as a going concern in the foreseeable future.

Management representations  Audit team should obtain written representations from the Accounting Officer or Chief Executive on matters material to the financial statements when those representations are critical to obtaining competent/relevant and reasonable audit evidence.  Audit should also seek to obtain a written representation acknowledging the Accounting Officer's or Chief Executive’s responsibility for the regularity of transactions.

Summarising the audit  After completing the audit procedures, the audit team should prepare an executive summary of audit findings.  This summary explains the key audit issues, their resolution, agreed adjustments and concludes on the appropriate form of audit certificate.  The summary is reviewed and signed by the Audit Officer, Group Officer (supervising the audit) and Accountant General.  Where the proposed audit certificate will be other than unqualified, the full rationale should be given in the executive summary.

Executive summary Executive summary should include  a summary of the auditee's operations and purpose;  a summary of the regularity framework of the auditee;  a summary of the audit approach and the balance between tests of controls and substantive procedures;  a summary of the key risks identified;  a commentary on the expenditure and income of the auditee;  a commentary on key balances;  a commentary on the accounting policies and significant account areas;  a summary of the results of audit procedures;  outstanding matters, if any;  a summary of matters carried forward to the next year's audit;  a conclusion on the appropriate form of audit certificate.