This is in response to the "what planning do you do prior to starting an audit?" question in the comment question.
Most people, including me, seemed to have gone through a "wtf do I do" moment when they first seniored an engagement. I had to look to others for help. Heck, I literally asked a senior manager something on the lines of.."What do I do now?"
I was used to doing the significant account work, and had little or no experience doing the planning/admin stuff. Wouldn't it be easier if we could just google "how to plan an audit" like we did for our college papers. Anyway, this is what I can come up with (keep in mind that it might probably be different for any firm) -
a) Plan the schedule accordingly - make sure that the current hours your team is budgeted for will be enough. For example, if this is your first year senioring, and the person on it last year was a few levels above you, odds are, unless you're a superstar, you will take more time than last year.
b) Read up on the company, get its prior year financials so you can get an understanding as to what its key significant accounts are
c) Talk to the client and ask about any changes this year - this is really what the higher-ups care about
d)Get the current year's trial balance/financials to set the materiality for the year
e) Based on the two above, reassess your risks for each account.
f) we have a memorandum where you talk about issues and what you plan to do with it, if your company does, then make sure you do that too
g) Get the checklists and binders ready
h) Send out a client document request list ,asking for a list of documents you'd like on your arrival there. (You can just update last year's document , and hopefully there is one)
These are just a few steps taken while planning an audit.
Some people love it, some people hate it..but it has to be completed.
Most people, including me, seemed to have gone through a "wtf do I do" moment when they first seniored an engagement. I had to look to others for help. Heck, I literally asked a senior manager something on the lines of.."What do I do now?"
I was used to doing the significant account work, and had little or no experience doing the planning/admin stuff. Wouldn't it be easier if we could just google "how to plan an audit" like we did for our college papers. Anyway, this is what I can come up with (keep in mind that it might probably be different for any firm) -
a) Plan the schedule accordingly - make sure that the current hours your team is budgeted for will be enough. For example, if this is your first year senioring, and the person on it last year was a few levels above you, odds are, unless you're a superstar, you will take more time than last year.
b) Read up on the company, get its prior year financials so you can get an understanding as to what its key significant accounts are
c) Talk to the client and ask about any changes this year - this is really what the higher-ups care about
d)Get the current year's trial balance/financials to set the materiality for the year
e) Based on the two above, reassess your risks for each account.
f) we have a memorandum where you talk about issues and what you plan to do with it, if your company does, then make sure you do that too
g) Get the checklists and binders ready
h) Send out a client document request list ,asking for a list of documents you'd like on your arrival there. (You can just update last year's document , and hopefully there is one)
These are just a few steps taken while planning an audit.
Some people love it, some people hate it..but it has to be completed.
Comments
Whats the work life balance at the big 4 like? I hear alot about it.
As far as RSS feeds go, I will look into it.