EconomyTransdisciplinarityCognitionwww.ugb.ro/etcVol.XIV,Issue1/2011350-358AudittechniquesandauditevidenceRADUFLOREAGeorgeBacoviaUniversityBacău,Romaniaradu.florea@ugb.roRAMONAFLOREAGeorgeBacoviaUniversityBacău,Romaniaramona.florea@ugb.roAbstractAuditorsusesvarioustechniquestocontrolaccountsinordertogetvalidandrelevantsamples.Therearemanywaystoobtainanrelevantauditevidenceandauditorshavetouse:Physicalexamination,Confirmations,Documentation,AnalyticalProcedures,InquiriesoftheClient,Reperformance,Observation.Anothermajortechniqueusedinauditisauditsampling.Thepurposeofauditproceduresistoofferdetailedauditstepswhicharetobeperformedduringtheauditfieldworkandwhichwillachievetheexplicitauditobjectives.Theseproceduresaretobedevelopedbytheauditorandapprovedbyauditmanagement,andinthecaseofadecisionofnotperformingaprocedure,acommentwiththereasonforthatdecisionneedstobeincludedintheauditprocedures.Keywords:auditevidence,documentation,externalconfirmation,auditsamplingIntroduction―Auditingisasystematicprocessofobjectivelyobtainingandevaluatingevidenceregardingassertionsabouteconomicactionsandeventstoascertainthedegreeofcorrespondencebetweenthoseassertionsandestablishedcriteriaandcommunicatingtheresultstointerestedusers‖(AmericanAccountingAssociation,1972).[7]Inordertogiveanassuranceaboutthefinancialstatementsofanentity,theauditorreceivesassertionsfromthemanagementaboutthesereports.Theseassertionscannotbetrustedandtheauditorneedstocollectevidencethatconfirmsthattheinformationproducedbythemanagementisaccurate.Inthiscase,theauditors‘opinionisbasedonthecollectedevidence(asseeinFig.1.).Auditevidenceincludeswrittenandelectronicinformationthatpermitstheauditortoreachconclusionsthroughreasoning.Inthisrespect,auditevidencehelpauditorstoestablishastartingpointfromwhichanauditorexpressesauditopinionontheaccountsandfinancialoperationsofthecompanybeingaudited.Suchevidenceisobtainedfromteststhatdeterminehowwellaccountingcontrolsworkandfromtestsofaccountingdetails(suchascompletenessanddisclosureofinformation).Fig.1.RelationshipofFinancialStatementAssertionsandtheAuditevidenceConceptofAuditEvidenceTheInternationalStandardonAuditing(ISA)500[5]describewhatconstitutesauditevidenceinanauditoffinancialstatements,andpromotetheauditor‘sresponsibilitytodesignandperformauditprocedurestoobtainsufficientappropriateauditevidence.Auditevidencemustgivetotheauditorareasonableassurancethatthefinancialstatementsdonotcontainamaterialmisstatement.Theformula‗reasonableassurance‘isanimportantaspectoftheauditor‘sreportbecausethisreferstothefactthatthefinancialstatementsmaybenotcorrectinabsoluteterms[2].Sometimes,thefinancialstatementscouldcontainsamaterialmisstatementbecauseofthelimitationsinherentinanaudit,suchas:Itisnotsuitabletotest100%ofeveryitemwithinthefinancialstatementsinordertokeepabalancebetweencostsandbenefits.Inherentlimitationsinaccountingandinternalcontrolsoftheclientfirm.Possibilitiesthatclientstaffandmanagementmaynotbeentirelyhonest.Estimatesusedinthefinancialstatements.Judgementsmadeonbehalfofauditorsincludingriskassessmentsandmaterialityaswellasjudgingwhichtestsareappropriateandwhichtestsarenot.Areasonableassuranceisobtainedwhentheauditorhasobtainedsufficientappropriateauditevidencetoreduceauditrisk(thatistheriskthattheauditorexpressesaninappropriateopinionwhenthefinancialstatementsa...
