Types of Audit Evidence

Audit evidence is the information that the auditors of an organisation gather from it in the process of conducting an audit (Also see Essential Processes in the Audit of Financial Statements). They can use this evidence when they assess and review the financial transactions of the company, the internal controls it has established, as well as other information they need to express their opinion on whether the financial statements are presenting the true and fair view of the organisation in a particular period.

The auditors from an audit firm in Johor Bahru may collect different types of audit evidence. Some of the examples include documentation, observation, physical examination, inquiries, confirmation and analytical procedures.

Documentation

The auditors will collect the written documents such as sales and purchase invoices, policy documents of the company and others. These documents can be external or internal. This type of evidence is perceived as a more dependable type since the auditors can find some proof in writing, and they can form their opinion based on the proof (Also see What Should Auditors Do When They Receive Electronic Audit Evidence?).

Observation

The auditors will observe the activities that the company and its employees are carrying out before they make any conclusion.

Physical examination

This means that the auditors will check the assets physically and count them if necessary (Also see Counting and Auditing the Warehouse Inventory). Based on the nature of the audit, they will collect this type of evidence if possible.

Inquiries

The auditors will ask various questions to the management or the relevant employees if they have any doubt in that particular area. Then, the audit evidence is the answers the auditors obtained from the management as well as the staff.

Confirmation

In most cases, the auditors need to acquire the balance confirmation from the third party. This is for them to make sure that the company has not manipulated the balances shown in the financial statements. After the third party has sent its written response directly to the auditors, the auditors will use them to confirm the authenticity and accuracy of the information they require.

Analytical procedures

The auditors will use these audit procedures (Also see Audit Procedures – Its Methods, Benefits and Restrictions) to derive the necessary information or to identify whether that information they receive is accurate. By using the analytical procedures, the auditors need to do calculations, make comparisons, as well as identify the relationship between different kinds of data that the company has provided.

There are a few important things to note when it comes to collecting audit evidence. Firstly, the amount and types of audit evidence are based on the type of organisation being audited, as well as the scope of the audit. Besides, the auditors can obtain audit evidence from both internal and external sources. Nevertheless, the evidence they collect from external sources has higher reliability than what they have gotten from internal sources.

Conclusion

Audit evidence plays a crucial role in an audit. It is what the auditors the company has appointed would collect as a part of the audit work. The auditors need to express their opinions (Also see Types of Audit Opinion) on the company’s financial statements in the period under consideration, which means that they should determine whether those statements present the true and fair view of the company based on the audit evidence they have collected.