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1181 Multiple reports: documentation issues
Jun-2018
Overview
Occasionally, auditors use a single audit file to document the audit procedures and assurance engagement reports issued for multiple assurance engagements.
This section outlines how to address final file assembly in these circumstances.
CPA Canada Assurance Standards
| Office | Annual Audit | Performance Audit, Special Examination, and Other Assurance Engagements |
|---|---|---|
|
CSQC1.A55 Where two or more different reports are issued in respect of the same subject matter information of an entity, the firm's policies and procedures relating to time limits for the assembly of final engagement files address each report as if it were for a separate engagement. This may, for example, be the case when the firm issues an auditor's report on a component's financial information for group consolidation purposes and, at a subsequent date, an auditor's report on the same financial information for statutory purposes. |
OAG Guidance
Multiple deliverables on the same engagement
A situation where auditors issue multiple deliverables regarding one audit would be group reporting on consolidated financial statements, as well as on the stand-alone financial statements of a parent company or of a component entity.
Multiple reports issued from the same engagement file on the same financial Information
Where auditors issue multiple reports regarding an entity’s financial information, the policies and procedures relating to time limits for the assembly of the final engagement file apply separately to each report as if it were for a separate engagement.
Ordinarily, the team documents the engagement work in one audit file. However, it may use two separate files to document audit work, if circumstances warrant.
Where the Office issues multiple reports from a single file, teams determine the earliest audit report date for the engagements for which they will issue separate reports and archive the file according to OAG Audit 1171, using the earliest audit report date.
Multiple reports issued from the same engagement file regarding different financial information
In some cases, auditors document an engagement with multiple sets of financial information and issue multiple reports from within a single audit file, or they apply similar procedure steps to similar but different engagements and document the information in one audit file. In these instances, teams apply the archiving guidance for each separate report and not just according to the date on which the last report was signed.
As noted above, where the Office issues multiple reports from a single audit file, teams determine the earliest audit report date for the engagements for which they will issue separate reports and archive the file according to OAG Audit 1171, using the earliest audit report date.
If only some but not all of the engagements are completed by the required final assembly date, as calculated by the earliest audit report date, perform the following steps:
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Verify that all documentation in respect of the earliest audit report is included in the audit file, as appropriate.
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Wrap up and archive the audit file in the audit working paper software. Also archive any external workpapers relating to the earliest audit report.
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Reopen the archived audit file in the audit working paper software with the authorization of the engagement leader and continue documenting work on the remaining incomplete engagements in this original audit file.
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Perform the steps above for any additional reports, until all the engagements have been completed, wrapped up and archived, as appropriate.