Tutorials commence in the second  week of lectures.

Knowledge and Understanding

This course introduces students to the field of auditing and assurance. It provides students with a sound understanding of fundamental auditing concepts and procedures, and the application of auditing standards. Consequently, the course provides a foundation for students who intend pursuing a specialised pathway in the auditing profession, as well as those who will pursue careers in accounting and other disciplines where principles of risk assessment, systems control and evaluation, and transaction testing are important. While the course focuses mainly on the practical application of an external financial audit that is regulated under Australian legislation, it also explores the wider audit and assurance framework; including the internal audit function, and some environmental auditing issues. In addition the course seeks to stimulate a critical appreciation of contemporary auditing and assurance issues.

 
Specific Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1) Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental audit concepts

2) Apply a range of audit procedures

3) Apply aiditng standards

4) Demonstrate an understanding of the legal context within which auditing occurs

5) Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethics and be able to apply the profession's code of ethics

6) Undertake research on significant auditing issues

7) Apply critical thinking skills and solve auditing problems through the use of case studies

8) Understand how to stay abreast of developments in auditing theory and practice

9) Demonstrate an understanding of the role of auditing in society

10) Work in a collegiate manner.

 
Communication Skills

The continuing development of good written, oral and inter-personal communication skills is widely recognised as important for commerce graduates. This course specifically seeks to develop students’ abilities to prepare and present succinct arguments, and to use appropriate academic referencing conventions.

Students require the textbook, handbook and certain materials prepared by the Lecturer in Charge.

Textbook

Title: Auditing and Assurance Services  in Australia (6th Edition).

Authors: Gay, G.  and Simnett, R.

Date of Publication: 2015

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Australia


 
Handbook

Title: Auditing and Assurance and Ethics Handbook 2016 Australia

Date of Publication: January 2016

Publisher: Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia / Wiley




Materials prepared by the Lecturer in Charge.

The following materials will be posted to MyUni. It is the responsibility of each student to print a copy of the materials in advance of  lectures and tutorials at which they are required.

Weekly Lecture and Tutorial Outline. Each week a lecture and Tutorial Outline is provided. This document contains a brief overview of the topics to be covered and how they relate to other topics dealt with in the course. They also contain the tutorial questions, and may also contain lecture exercises, definitions of key terms and illustrative examples.

Lecture slide handouts. These should be printed three frames to an A4 page in order to leave enough room to make notes. 

Guidance notes. Provide extensive guidance and illustrative examples on selected issues.

Readings as advised by the Lecturer.

Newspaper articles and other papers as advised by the Lecturer.

Students may find the following sources  helpful in attempting to master the course material. All books listed below can be borrowed from the library.

 Books

Title: Modern Auditing and Assurance Services (5th Edition).

Authors: P. Leung, P.Coram, B.J. Cooper, and P Richardson

Date of Publication: 2011.

Publisher: Wiley

Place of Publication: Milton, Qld.


Title: Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia (5th Edition).

Authors: G Gay and R Simnett

Date of Publication: 2013

Publisher: McGraw-Hill


Title: Auditing and Assurance Services A systematic Approach (4th Edition)

Authors: W F Messier Jr, S M Glover, and D F Prawitt 2006.

McGraw Hill Irwin

New York


Understanding the New Auditing Standards Related to Risk Assessment

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 2006.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

New York

 
Other resources in the Barr Smith Library

Australian Financial Review

Business Review Weekly

Charter (Journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia)

In The Black (Journal of CPA Australia)

The business sections of daily newspapers

 
Web sites

www.cpaaustralia.com.au ( CPA Australia - Some public information, more for CPA Australia Passport 
                                       members)

www.icaa.org.au (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia -some public information, more for
                         CASS members)

www.pearson.com.au (Companion site to the textbook)

www.aasb.org.au (Australian Accounting Standards Board)

www.auasb.gov.au ( Auditing and Assurance Standards Board)

www.frc.gov.au (Financial Reporting Council)

www.asic.gov.au (Australian Securities and Investments Commission)

 
See also websites of other professional organisations, public companies, accounting firms and government

This course uses MyUni extensively. The following material will be posted prior to and during the semester:

• MyMedia recordings of lectures
• Handouts of lecture slides
• Weekly lecture and tutorial outlines (which, include tutorial questions)
• Lecture exercises
• Addional guidance notes
• Newspaper articles
• Readings
• Assessment information
• links to useful websites
• Short films
• Selected tutorial answers
• Announcements
• Marks for in-course assessments

The prime delivery mode is through one  lecture and one tutorial  per week. Lectures are of one hour   fifty minutes duration. Lectures are recorded, and recordings are posted on MyUni as soon as they are available, which is generally within one hour. The recording of lectures is offered as a back-up only. Students are strongly advised to attend all lectures.

Tutorial classes of one hour and fifty minutes duration commence in the week of Monday August 1st. Tutorials are an important component of this course. Membership of tutorial classes is to be finalised by the end of the second week of semester. Students wishing to swap between tutorial classes after this time are required to present their case to the Lecturer-in-Charge, but should be aware that such a request may not be approved. Students are strongly advised to attend all tutorials.

Students are required to complete the assigned tutorial questions each week and be prepared to discuss questions in the tutorials. Solutions to selected questions will be provided. In addition to the tutorial questions, workshop question/questions will be discussed at each tutorial. The workshop question will provide students with an opportunity to further consolidate their understandings of key concepts and to apply them in a collegiate environment. While tutors will be available to provide assistance to students as they discuss the workshop questions, model answers to workshop questions will not be provided.

The communication skills developed in tutorials by regularly participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School, and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

The University expects full-time students to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that for this course students are expected to commit approximately nine hours of private study, that is, study outside classes. Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures and tutorials through the term.

The following topics are covered in this course. For a more detailed outline of what is covered each week, please see the document titled, " Overview of  Topics", which can be found under "Lecture and Tutorial Outlines" on the MyUni site for this course.
 

Week 1: Introduction to auditing, and an overview of the auditing process

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Week 2: Management's responsibility for the preparation of financial reports

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Week 3: Fundamental audit concepts

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Week 4 Week 4: Fundamental audit concepts 
               

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Week 5: The audit engagement:
                      Client acceptance
                      Planning the audit

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Week 6:  The audit engagement
                      Planning the audit

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Week 7:The audit engagement:
                      Testing controls

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Week 8: The audit engagement
                       Substantive tests of transactions and balances

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Week  9: The audit engagement
                     Completion and review
                     The audit report

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Week 10: The professional and regulatory environment:
                 Ethics

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Lecture 11: The professional and regulatory environment:
                   Regulation of auditing and legalliability

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Week 12:   Other Assurance Services 
                    Contemorary issues in auditing
                

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Revision Lecture:Wednesday June 15 at 10.00am in Lgertwood 333 Lecture Theatre

ASSESSABLE ITEMS

There are six assessment items in this course. The weighting ascribed to each is as follows:
 

Assessable Item	Due Date and Time	Weighting %	Related Learning Outcomes
Test 1	Week of April 4th,  Day and tme to be announced. Location: Bonython Hall.	10	Weeks 1,2.3                and 4
Test 2	Thursday  May 5th  at 2.10 pm in Ligertwwood 333 Lecture Theatre	10	Weeks 5 and 6
Test 3	Thursday  May 26 th at 2:10pm in Ligertwood 333Lecture Theatre	10	Weeks 7, 8 and              9
Weekly Questions	2.00 pm on the Monday* of each teaching week.	15	See weekly      learning   outcomes
Auditing Handbook Exercise	Friday April 22 at 10.00am	5	Course Objective No. 3
Final Exam	Exam period	50	All
		100

 
* For weeks in which there is a Monday  public holiday, the due date for submitting answers  weekly questions is 9am on the    Tuesday.
 

 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS

To pass this course, students must achieve an overall grade of 50% and also achieve at least 50% in the final exam. Students who fail to meet both criteria will be awarded a mark of no more than 49.  

None of the assessment in this course is redeemable. Failure to complete any assessment item in accordance with the requirements will result in forfeiture of the marks allocated to that assessment item.

Legible handwriting and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted for poor presentation of written, in–course assessable items. In addition, marks may also be deducted in the final examination because of poor handwriting and the inability, therefore, for a marker to read that text.
 
No dictionaries whatsoever are permitted in the mid-semester test or final exam.

Calculators will not be allowed into the final exam.

Extensions for weekly questions will only be granted on medical and/ or compassionate grounds . Applications with supporting evidence must be made to the Course Co-ordinator.