ITPEC FE Morning October 2019 Question 59

Pointing out the items that need improvement — the auditor reports findings and recommends; management decides and carries out the improvements.

A system auditor is independent of the audited department and has no authority over its work. The audit opinion must rest on sufficient and appropriate audit evidence gathered in the investigation. The auditor's output is therefore findings and recommendations in the audit report; making the improvements is the audited department's job under management's direction, and the auditor follows up on progress.

Answer (c)

Why not others:

• •(a) — reporting while the investigation is unfinished gives opinions without sufficient evidence; the schedule should be extended or the unexamined scope stated
• •(b) — ordering improvements exceeds the auditor's role; the auditor recommends, and management instructs the audited department
• •(d) — opinions on matters not fully investigated, based on past experience, are not supported by audit evidence

Key rule: Every audit opinion needs audit evidence behind it, and an auditor recommends rather than orders, which keeps the auditor independent of the audited work.

System Audit · AI-written, may contain errors