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Audit US - Overview

CaseWare Audit US is an integrated audit approach providing planning tools, intelligent checklists and work programs along with audit workflow and efficiency management tools. The content provides non-authoritative guidance on applying auditing standards issued by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

Audit US includes an optional module that allows auditors to record, track and summarize risks, controls and reportable items with a powerful centralized tracking system. You can create numerous reports to analyze the identified risks and controls including Constellation™. Constellation is a graphical interface which displays all the key knowledge accumulated in the engagement file at different stages of the audit. The views and reports will ensure the auditor can identify, assess and respond to those risks of material misstatement that have the potential to materially affect the financial statements.

The automated tools, forms, checklists, work programs and questionnaires provided in Audit US are useful practice aids that can save time and money while ensuring efficiency, effectiveness, completeness and consistency.

These forms are designed:

For use by professional staff members who have some understanding of assurance engagements and other relevant requirements. It is highly recommended that staff members receive some basic training on the relevant professional standards and the use of the forms before work is commenced.
To document the results of performing risk assessment procedures in a structured and systematic way. Such documentation facilitates the consistent assessment of risks, updating of new information in subsequent years and ease of file review.

The practice aids have been designed for a small and medium-sized (SME) non-public company, and do not address the wide range of circumstances, risk factors or specific industry issues that may exist for a particular client or groups of clients (such as those operating in a specialized industry, government or non-profit organization, complex IT environments, etc.). Consequently, the Audit US forms should always be tailored to address the known facts and circumstances of each engagement.

On April 20th 2020, the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board (ASB) agreed to defer the implementation of seven recently issued Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs) due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the Audit US 22.00 template does not include content changes from the recently issued SAS Nos. 134–140 standards. The SAS Nos. 134–140 standards will take effect for audits of financial statements with a calendar year-end of 2021.

The practice aids are updated for US GAAS requirements which are effective for periods ending on or after May 31, 2020. The following GAAS standards have not been addressed in this product and other resources or professional standards should be consulted:

AU-C Section 720 Other Information in Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements
AU-C Section 805 Special Considerations - Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement
AU-C Section 806 Reporting on Compliance With Aspects of Contractual Agreements or Regulatory Requirements in Connection With Audited Financial Statements
AU-C Section 810 Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements
AU-C Section 910 Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance With a Financial Reporting Framework Generally Accepted in Another Country
AU-C Section 915 Reports on Application of Requirements of an Applicable Financial Reporting Framework
AU-C Section 920 Letters for Underwriters and Certain Other Requesting Parties
AU-C Section 925 Filings With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Under the Securities Act of 1933
AU-C Section 930 Interim Financial Information
AU-C Section 935 Compliance Audits
AU-C Section 940 An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Financial Statements
AU-C Section 945 Auditor Involvement With Exempt Offering Documents

In rare circumstances, the auditor may judge it necessary to depart from a relevant presumptively mandatory requirement. In such circumstances, the auditor should perform alternative audit procedures to achieve the intent of that requirement. The need for the auditor to depart from a relevant presumptively mandatory requirement is expected to arise only when the requirement is for a specific procedure to be performed and, in the specific circumstances of the audit, that procedure would be ineffective in achieving the intent of the requirement.

If, in rare circumstances, the auditor judges it necessary to depart from a relevant presumptively mandatory requirement, the auditor must document the justification for the departure and how the alternative audit procedures performed in the circumstances were sufficient to achieve the intent of that requirement.

Audit Approach

Audit US‘s audit approach can be divided into three phases.

Phase 1 - Planning and risk assessment - Perform preliminary engagement activities including whether the engagement can or should be accepted; determine materiality; organize the audit to ensure attention is focused on key areas; identify/assess risk of material misstatement in the financial statements through understanding the entity (including significant risks and design/implementation of relevant internal controls); conclude by summarizing the risk assessments.

Phase 2 - Risk response - Design audit procedures that respond to assessed risks of material misstatement at the financial statement and assertion level; obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence and assess results of any need for additional procedures.

Phase 3 - Reporting - Communicate with management/ those charged with governance (misstatements, findings, material weaknesses and significant deficiencies and written representations), complete the audit file ensuring significant judgements and conclusions have been finalized and subsequent events reviewed and form an opinion on the financial statements.

Please refer to the Audit US Engagement - Audit Map for further details on the steps in each phase.

Audit Profiles

Audit profiles are used to disable built-in audit features and remove documents (practice aids) from the Document Manager. CaseWare Audit US includes two (2) profiles.

Audit - Extended - includes all available audit features and all practice aid documents included in Audit US including practice aids to address standards in a larger entity (ex. group audits and internal audit). Optimizer will guide the user to delete inapplicable areas.
Audit - Oneform - includes a single memo style practice aid designed as a framework for US GAAS documentation requirements. Experienced auditors can simply enter text into memo fields, avoiding the need for the full set of practice aids and additional guidance. In addition to the single memo style practice aid, this profile also includes automatic documents, work programs, materiality and the Financial Statement Areas Worksheet.

Refer to the US Profile Comparison for a detailed listing of the documents and features available by profile.

Practice Aids

The authors have indicated the classification of each practice aid into one of three categories:

Required - Completion of the practice aid will fulfill GAAS requirements. Note that the practice aids have been designed for a small and medium-sized (SME) non-public company, and do not address the wide range of circumstances, risk factors or specific industry issues that may exist for a particular client or groups of clients (such as those operating in a specialized industry).
Optional - The practice aids may be used by the auditor to improve efficiency of the audit, but by themselves the practice aids do not fulfill a specific GAAS requirements.
Conditional - The practice aid assists the auditor with conditions that do not occur in every audit (i.e. group audits, internal audit). Driven through the Audit optimizer - if the client has the condition, the practice aid will be included in the engagement file and it fulfills the GAAS requirements.

There are different ways to complete audit documentation to meet the requirements of U.S. GAAS. Audit US includes a series of practices aids to guide auditors through the process. In some cases, it may be more efficient to create a memo document. When using a memo format auditors are reminded that they are required to ensure that they address all of the applicable standards and that the documentation is sufficient and appropriate. Documentation needs to be prepared in sufficient detail to enable an experienced auditor, having no previous connection with the audit, to understand the work performed. The level of documentation will depend on the particular audit engagement and the risks of any particular areas.

Refer online to the complete list of Audit US practice aids.

Audit Functionality

Audit US makes your audit process more intelligent through the use of Profiles and the built-in Audit Optimizer. Profiles are used to disable built-in audit features and remove documents (practice aids) from the Document Manager. The Optimizer tool works behind the scenes to build the most appropriate work programs, checklists and forms based on criteria defined by the engagement team. Further tailoring of the individual work programs procedures will occur based on your assessment of risk of material misstatement at the financial statement and assertion level.

The built in workflow dashboard is designed to offer an easy way to navigate the engagement using the above 3 phases.

Refer to Audit Walkthrough for a flowchart and further explanation of how the data flows within the Audit US product.

Indexing of Practice Aids

The indexing scheme used for CaseWare’s Audit US Practice Aids is as follows:

Phase	Indexing
Planning	400 series
Risk Assessment	500 series
Risk Response	600 series
Completion and Reporting	700 series
Financial statement areas work program series	Assets: Alpha Series A - W Liabilities and Equity: Alpha series BB - UU Income Statement: Numerical series 1000 - 6000

Feedback

We welcome your feedback. Please e-mail us at support@caseware.com with any suggestions.

Peer Review

CaseWare Audit US has received a Quality Control Materials Review Report with a report rating of Pass. This report was accepted by the National Peer Review Committee of the AICPA on December 13, 2018. Please visit www.aicpa.org to download both the QCM Review Report from RW Group LLC and the AICPA acceptance letter.

Disclaimer

These forms are designed to assist practitioners in the implementation of US GAAS in conjunction with the audit of small-and medium-sized entities. The forms are not intended to be a substitute for the auditing standards themselves. A practitioner should utilize these forms in light of his or her professional judgment and the facts and circumstances involved in each particular audit.

CaseWare® International Inc. and CPA Canada disclaim any responsibility or liability that may occur, directly or indirectly, as a consequence of the use and application of these forms.

The Audit US template is copyrighted by CaseWare® International Inc. Use of this template is subject to CaseWare® International Inc.’s end user license agreement. All intellectual property rights in the software and content remain the exclusive property of CaseWare® International Inc. or CPA Canada as the case may be. When using this template you must comply with the law, including without limitation, copyright laws.

This online help system applies to all CaseWare Audit, Review and Compilation products. Not all features are available in all products.

Audit US - Overview

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