The Electronicization of Audit Drafts for Accounting Firms

Electronicization of Audit Drafts in Accounting Firms Essay

With the wide application of computer technology and the gradual increase in the degree of informationization in society, the traditional way of using ? The traditional way of auditing is to use paper+pen+calculator as a tool. As a tool for the audit approach increasingly inefficient and uneconomical, how to use computer technology to transform the traditional audit approach is an urgent task facing the domestic accounting firms, this paper combines the electronic practice of the manuscripts to talk about the experience for the reference of their peers.

Advantages of the electronic draft

1. Electronic draft can facilitate the auditor *** enjoy the information to improve the efficiency of the audit. Audit work is a team work, its efficiency depends on effective information *** enjoy. In the traditional paper-based working methods, audit team members prepare their own drafts in accordance with the division of labor, and it is inconvenient for them to consult each other. Audit working papers to achieve electronic, auditors can easily through the company's internal LAN or audit team site peer-to-peer network to achieve information **** enjoyment, mutual access to audit papers only need to point and click the mouse can be easily achieved, and auditors do not affect each other, which can greatly improve the efficiency of the audit. In addition, in the traditional ? Paper + pen + calculator? Under the traditional "paper + pen + calculator" work mode, a large number of calculations using the calculator to complete, the auditor in order to ensure the accuracy of the calculation results, often to check the calculation two to three times, wasting a lot of time. In the electronic manuscript work conditions, the auditor only needs to carry out the initial data entry, the calculation work by the computer is automatically completed, the calculation results are accurate, no need to check the calculation, can save time and improve the efficiency of the audit.

2. Favorable to the firm's accumulation of audit experience, improve the level of knowledge management. After the electronic draft, the experience accumulated by the auditors in the actual work can be easily and timely transformed into a template to guide the future audit work, and can be updated in a timely manner audit procedures to achieve the audit experience **** enjoy. Once the country issued new accounting standards and auditing standards, the firm using electronic drafts can also quickly reflect, adjust their own audit procedures. In the traditional paper-based approach, in order to improve efficiency, the firm generally prints the audit procedures on paper, and in order to save costs when printing, the printing batch is generally larger. Once the batch printing is completed, the audit procedures can not be adjusted in batch, but only in use by the auditor to make adjustments, which often requires the firm to carry out a large number of 'publicity and training in order to do so. In this way, the state promulgated new accounting standards and auditing standards of the new requirements and the firm's internal audit experience is difficult to be translated into audit procedures in a timely manner, which is not conducive to improving audit quality and reducing audit risk.

3. In favor of strengthening audit quality control. In the traditional ? Paper + pen + calculator? the way of work, the firm's internal three-level review and quality checks are realized through the flow of paper documents, the control is not strong. In the electronic draft, through the setting of control points, each employee has their own user name and password, the preparation, review and inspection of the draft of the computer to realize the automatic signature, can be convenient and strict control of the business process, to ensure that the firm's quality control policies and procedures for the implementation of the implementation. This can greatly strengthen the three review and quality inspection work, improve the review and quality inspection level.

4. The electronic draft expands the scope of the material of the audit report. With the electronic draft, in addition to the paper draft, audio materials, video materials, electronic photos can constitute an audit trail, auditors can make full use of information technology means to collect audit evidence conveniently and quickly, thereby reducing audit risk.

5. Reduce the burden on auditors to carry, and facilitate the custody, retrieval and access to audit working papers. After the draft electronic, all the draft can be stored in the laptop, the auditor does not need to carry heavy paper media draft. Moreover, once the drafts are completed, they can be archived on the server or burned to CD-ROM for easy storage and future retrieval and review. As a result of the substantial reduction in paper consumption, both can significantly reduce the firm's custody of the draft costs, but also in line with the national environmental policy.

The conditions and ways to achieve the electronic draft

The implementation of the electronic draft is not only a change in the medium of the draft, in fact, is also through the computer technology of the existing audit approach to a profound change, the need for auditors to carry out audits on the concept of change. In this process, the firm should continue to summarize the audit experience, timely adjustment of audit procedures.

The realization of the electronic manuscripts, the core lies in the development of a set of computer software. There are two ways to develop computer software: commissioned outside the unit development and self-development. Software development generally use the existing office software and database software implementation. Available software: OFFICE, SQSEVER, NOTES and so on. Firms should be combined with their own size, choose the appropriate database software. Larger companies or proposed large-scale development of accounting firms, it is recommended to recruit their own software talent to develop their own, the development team should be composed of experienced auditors and software personnel. First of all, by the auditor to put forward a variety of needs, software personnel in full communication with the auditor on the basis of the preparation of electronic manuscripts, and with the development of accounting and auditing continue to adjust the audit software, the software should be developed into a network version rather than a stand-alone version.

In terms of hardware, it should be ensured that each auditor has a laptop and each audit team should have a hub. Auditors should form a small network of all the auditors' computers through the hub at the audit site in order to achieve information **** enjoyment.

Successful implementation of the e-version of drafts will also require extensive training of staff. Training should focus on solving two problems: ① change the mindset of the auditors, so that they accept and enjoy the use of electronic documents; ② improve the ability to use the computer audit staff, so that they can skillfully use the computer to prepare electronic documents.

As the electronic version of the manuscript requires a larger investment in hardware and software and more training, the successful implementation of a certain risk, the firm can first be in a part of the computer level is better, the audit of the audit of the business ability of the audit staff in the pilot, the pilot after the success of the full-scale promotion, so that the success of the trial demonstration can effectively reduce the promotion of the resistance in the process.

Two issues that should be noted in the electronic draft

1. confidentiality issues. Audit draft not only involves the commercial secrets of the audited unit, but also involves the firm's own commercial secrets. As electronic documents can be easily copied, but also vulnerable to hacker attacks, in order to protect their own and their clients' commercial secrets, the firm should be developed for the electronic confidentiality of the manuscript system, from the hardware and software to take feasible measures to ensure that the client's commercial secrets are not disclosed.

2. The safekeeping of the draft. Audit working papers are the basis for issuing audit reports, which is the proof of judgment of audit responsibility. How the law, regulations and the requirements of good custody of the draft is a key issue to be resolved by the electronic draft. According to the requirements of Independent Auditing Standard No. 6? Audit Working Papers, current files should be kept for at least ten years from the date of issuance of the audit report; permanent files should be kept for a long time. In order to meet the requirements of the standard, the firm should burn the completed working papers into CD-ROMs in a timely manner and keep the CD-ROMs in a storage room with better conditions. (Author: Wei Pioneer Yuehua CPA Firm)

Requirements for the preparation of audit working papers

The Independent Auditing Standards put forward standardized operational requirements for the preparation of audit working papers, which mainly include:

(a) Necessity provisions. The Basic Standard on Independent Auditing states that ? The CPA shall record the audit plan and its implementation process, results and other important matters that need to be judged in the audit working papers? (Article 15). Specific Standard on Independent Auditing No. 1? Audit of Accounting Statements" also stipulates that? The CPA shall record the audit work in an audit working paper.? (Article 19) The preparation of audit working papers is a mandatory requirement for CPAs to perform audit engagements. An audit report without audit working papers is undoubtedly an authentic false report.

(ii) Technical requirements. Independent Auditing Standard No. 6? Audit working papers" Article V of the preparation of audit working papers put forward specific technical provisions, namely? Complete content, standardized format, consistent identification, clear records, and clear conclusions?

(C) the appropriateness of the provisions. Standardized audit working papers is not a simple stack of various written text, should reflect the audit evidence that has been collected and the final formation of the audit opinion of the inherent logical relationship between. Audit working papers are of various types and have different sources and compilers, in order to ensure the appropriateness of the audit working papers, "Independent Auditing Standards No. 1? Audit of Accounting Statements" stipulates that? The CPA shall perform the necessary inspections and reviews of the audit working papers? (Article 21), while for working papers prepared by business associates, the ? the CPA shall direct, supervise, and inspect the work of the business associate and shall be responsible for the results of his or her work?

Elements and Composition of Audit Working Papers

Audit working papers are the records of audit work and information obtained by CPAs formed during the audit process. The formation of its preparation and acquisition of two kinds.

For self-prepared working papers, should be a comprehensive record of the implementation of the audit plan track, the collection of audit evidence, the basis and process of professional judgment, the formation of audit opinions. Most working papers should be prepared by CPAs themselves.

For the entrusted unit or a third party to provide information, strictly speaking, is not an audit working papers, only in the CPA to implement the necessary audit procedures and the formation of the corresponding audit records, as an important part of the audit working papers.

The basic content of the audit working papers contain ten parts, namely: (1) the name of the audited unit; (2) the name of the audit project; (3) the audit project point or period; (4) the audit process records; (5) the audit logo and its description; (6) audit conclusions; (7) the index number and page number; (8) the name of the compiler and the date of compilation; (9) the name of the reviewer and the date of review; (10) other audit work. (10) Other matters to be stated.