Communication with Those Charged with Governance...... 36
Conformity with International Standards on Auditing...... 37
Part Preface - ASA 320 - Materiality and Audit Adjustments - April 2006 - Preface | Zoe
Preface
Reasons for Issuing Auditing Standard ASA 320 Materiality and Audit Adjustments
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) issues Auditing Standard ASA 320 Materiality and Audit Adjustments, due to the requirements of the legislative provisions explained below.
The Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (Audit Reform and Corporate Disclosure) Act 2004 (the CLERP 9 Act) established the AUASB as an independent statutory body under section 227A of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, as from 1 July 2004. Under section 336 of the Corporations Act 2001, the AUASB may make Auditing Standards for the purposes of the corporations legislation. These Auditing Standards are legislative instruments under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Main Features
This Auditing Standard establishes mandatory requirements and provides explanatory guidance regarding the auditor’s consideration of materiality and its relationship with audit risk in planning an audit and evaluating audit evidence. The Auditing Standard covers:
(a) preliminary assessments of materiality to plan audit procedures;
(b) quantitative and qualitative factors that impact on the auditor’s assessment of materiality;
(c) the importance of qualitative materiality considerations when evaluating the impact, if any, of individual misstatements on the financial report and audit opinion; and
(d) reporting responsibilities arising from the identification of misstatements (whether or not material) including management representations regarding the effect of uncorrected misstatements and communication with those charged with governance.
Operative Date
This Auditing Standard is operative for financial reporting periods commencing on or after 1 July 2006.
Main changes from AUS 306 (June 2001) Materiality and Audit Adjustments
The main differences between this Auditing Standard and the Auditing Standard issued by the Auditing & Assurance Standards Board of the Australian Accounting Research Foundation, AUS 306 (June 2001) Materiality and Audit Adjustments, are that in this Auditing Standard:
The word ‘shall’, in the bold-type paragraphs, is the terminology used to describe an auditor’s mandatory requirements, whereas an auditor’s degree of responsibility is described in AUS 306 by the word ‘should’.
The explanatory guidance paragraphs provide guidance and illustrative examples to assist the auditor in fulfilling the mandatory requirements, whereas in AUS 306 some obligations are implied within certain explanatory paragraphs. Accordingly, such paragraphs have been re-drafted to clarify that they form part of the explanatory guidance.
The following implied obligations, in AUS 306, have been elevated and re-stated as specific mandatory requirements:
(a) an auditor shall make a preliminary assessment of materiality to establish an appropriate quantitative materiality level to plan risk assessment procedures, further audit procedures at the assertion level, selection strategies and other audit procedures (paragraph 12);
(b) the auditor shall consider qualitative factors, which impact on the materiality of individual misstatements, to assess:
(i) the significance of the misstatement to the particular entity;
(ii) the pervasiveness of the misstatement; and
(iii) the effect of misstatement on the financial report as a whole (paragraph 21);
(c) the auditor shall bring to the attention of management, misstatements identified during the audit, other than those that are clearly trivial, for correction prior to evaluating the effect of the remaining uncorrected misstatements (paragraph 24); and
(d) when the auditor concludes that uncorrected misstatements are immaterial individually and in aggregate to the financial report, the auditor shall endeavour to obtain representations from management to acknowledge:
(i) uncorrected misstatements have been brought to their attention by the auditor; and
(ii) they have considered the effect of any uncorrected misstatements, aggregated during and pertaining to the latest period, on the financial report and consider the misstatements are immaterial individually and in aggregate to the financial report taken as a whole (paragraph 35).
Additional explanatory guidance is provided in relation to misstatements, identified during the audit, that an auditor shall bring to the attention of management (paragraphs 25 and 26).
The objective of an audit of a financial report is included within explanatory guidance and refers to Auditing Standard ASA 200 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of a Financial Report (paragraph 8). AUS 306, however, requires that the objective of an audit of a financial report is to enable the auditor to express an opinion whether the financial report is prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework.
AUTHORITY STATEMENT
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) makes Auditing Standard ASA 320 Materiality and Audit Adjustments as set out in paragraphs 1 to 37, pursuant to section 227B of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 and section 336 of the Corporations Act 2001.
This Auditing Standard is to be read in conjunction with the Preamble to AUASB Standards, which sets out the intentions of the AUASB on how the Auditing Standards are to be understood, interpreted and applied.
The mandatory requirements of this Auditing Standard are set out in bold-type paragraphs.