Auditing and Assurance Services
Seventeenth Edition, Global Edition
Chapter 5
Audit Responsibilities and
Objectives
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Learning Objectives (1 of 3)
5.1 Explain the objective of conducting an audit of financial
statements and an audit of internal controls
5.2 Distinguish management’s responsibility for the
financial statements from the auditor’s responsibility for
verifying those statements
5.3 Explain the auditor’s responsibility for discovering
material misstatements due to fraud or error
5.4 Describe the need to maintain professional skepticism
when conducting an audit
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Learning Objectives (2 of 3)
5.5 Describe the key elements of an effective professional
judgment process
5.6 Identify the benefits of a cycle approach to segmenting
the audit
5.7 Describe why the auditor obtains assurance by
auditing transactions and ending balances, including
presentation and disclosure
5.8 Distinguish among the management assertions about
financial information
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Learning Objectives (3 of 3)
5.9 Link transaction-related audit objectives to
management assertions for classes of transactions
5.10 Link balance-related audit objectives to management
assertions
5.11 Explain the relationship between audit objectives and
the accumulation of audit evidence
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Learning Objective 5.1
Explain the objective of conducting an audit of financial
statements and an audit of internal controls
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Objective of Conducting an Audit of
Financial Statements
• The purpose of an audit is to:
– Provide financial statement users with an opinion by
the auditor on
 Whether the financial statements are presented
fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with
the applicable financial accounting framework,
which enhances the degree of confidence that
intended users can place in the financial statements
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Figure 5.1 Steps to Develop Audit Objectives
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Learning Objective 5.2
Distinguish management’s responsibility for the financial
statements from the auditor’s responsibility for verifying
those statements
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Management’s Responsibilities
• Management’s responsibility includes:
– Adopting sound accounting policies
– Maintaining adequate internal control
– Making fair representations in the financial statements
– Certifying the quarterly and annual financial
statements
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Figure 5.2 International Business
Machines Corporation’s Report of
Management
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臺灣上市櫃公司也要公布內部控制聲明書
• 本公司民國○○年度之內部控制制度，依據自行評估的結果，謹聲明如下：
• 一、本公司確知建立、實施和維護內部控制制度係本公司董事會及經理人
之責任，本公司業已建立此一制度。其目的係在對營運之效果及效率(含獲
利、績效及保障資產安全等）、報導具可靠性、及時性、透明性及符合相
關規範暨相關法令規章之遵循等目標的達成，提供合理的確保。
• 二、內部控制制度有其先天限制，不論設計如何完善，有效之內部控制制
度亦僅能對上述三項目標之達成提供合理的確保；而且，由於環境、情況
之改變，內部控制制度之有效性可能隨之改變。惟本公司之內部控制制度
設有自我監督之機制，缺失一經辨認，本公司即採取更正之行動。
• 三、本公司係依據「公開發行公司建立內部控制制度處理準則」（以下簡
稱「處理準則」）規定之內部控制制度有效性之判斷項目，判斷內部控制
制度之設計及執行是否有效。該「處理準則」所採用之內部控制制度判斷
項目，係為依管理控制之過程，將內部控制制度劃分為五個組成要素：1.
控制環境，2.風險評估，3.控制作業，4.資訊與溝通，及5.監督作業。每個
組成要素又包括若干項目。前述項目請參見「處理準則」之規定。
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• 四、本公司業已採用上述內部控制制度判斷項目，評估內部控制制度之
設計及執行的有效性。
• 五、本公司基於前項評估結果，認為本公司於民國○○年○○月○○日
註2的內部控制制度﹙含對子公司之監督與管理﹚，包括瞭解營運之效果
及效率目標達成之程度、報導係屬可靠、及時、透明及符合相關規範暨
相關法令規章之遵循有關的內部控制制度等之設計及執行係屬有效，其
能合理確保上述目標之達成。
• 六、本聲明書將成為本公司年報及公開說明書之主要內容，並對外公開。
上述公開之內容如有虛偽、隱匿等不法情事，將涉及證券交易法第二十
條、第三十二條、第一百七十一條及第一百七十四條等之法律責任。
• 七、本聲明書業經本公司民國○○年○○月○○日董事會通過，出席董
事○人中，有○人持反對意見，餘均同意本聲明書之內容，併此聲明。
• ○○股份有限公司
董事長：
簽章 總經理：
簽章
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Let’s Discuss (1 of 6)
• Describe management’s responsibility for the financial
statements.
– Do you believe the CEO and CFO of a public
company perceive an even greater responsibility as a
result of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act requirement to certify
the financial statements submitted to the SEC?
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Learning Objective 5.3
Explain the auditor’s responsibility for discovering material
misstatements due to fraud or error
會計師到底要不要為了公司的舞弊負責？
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Auditor’s Responsibilities (1 of 2)
• The overall objectives of the auditor are to:
– Obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements as a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, thereby
enabling the auditor to
 Express an opinion on whether the financial
statements are presented fairly, in all material
respects, in accordance with an applicable financial
reporting framework
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Auditor’s Responsibilities (2 of 2)
• The overall objectives of the auditor are to:
– Report on the financial statements, and communicate
as required by auditing standards, in accordance with
the auditor’s findings
• Auditor are also responsible to:
– Detect material unintentional mistakes
– Detect material fraud
– Consider laws and regulations relevant to the client
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Learning Objective 5.4
Describe the need to maintain professional skepticism when
conducting an audit
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Professional Skepticism (1 of 2)
• Audit must be planned and performed with an attitude of
professional skepticism
• Professional skepticism consists of two primary
components:
– A questioning mind
– A critical assessment of the audit evidence
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Professional Skepticism (2 of 2)
• Elements of professional skepticism include:
– Questioning mindset 保持懷疑心態
– Suspension of judgment 在證據收集齊全之前，停止運
用判斷的方式
– Search for knowledge
– Interpersonal understanding 瞭解人際關係(當事人有不
同動機)
– Autonomy 自治-保持超然獨立心態
– Self-esteem 自尊
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Learning Objective 5.5
Describe the key elements of an effective professional
judgment process
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Professional Judgment
• Professional skepticism is one component of professional
judgment
• The profession has developed frameworks to assist
auditors in making appropriate judgments during an audit
to make them aware of their own judgment tendencies,
traps, and biases
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Figure 5.3 Elements of an Effective
Judgment Process
Source: Professional Judgment Resource, provided courtesy of the Center for
Audit Quality (2014).
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Potential Judgment Tendencies,
Traps, and Biases
• Auditors should be alert for the following potential
judgment tendencies, traps, and biases that may
impact their decision-making process:
– Confirmation 確認偏誤
– Overconfidence 過度自信
– Anchoring 定錨
– Availability 可得性偏誤
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Table 5.1 Strategies to Mitigate
Common Judgment Tendencies
Judgment Tendency
Confirmation: The tendency to put more weight
on information that is consistent with initial
beliefs or preferences
Overconfidence: The tendency to overestimate
one’s own abilities to perform tasks or to make
accurate assessments of risks or other
judgments and decisions
Anchoring: The tendency to make assessments by
starting from an initial value and then adjusting
insufficiently away from that initial value
Availability: The tendency to consider information
that is easily retrievable or easily accessible as
being more likely or more relevant
Strategy to Avoid or Mitigate Tendency
Make the opposing case and consider
alternative explanations
Consider potentially disconfirming or conflicting
information
Challenge opinions and experts
Challenge underlying assumptions
Solicit input from others
Consider management bias, including the
potential for fraud or material misstatements
Consider why something comes to mind
Obtain and consider objective data
Consult with others and make the opposing
case
Source: Professional Judgment Resource, Provided courtesy of the Center for Audit
Quality (2014).
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審計行為研究
• 經驗法則的偏誤-為何沒有辦法依據機率來判斷？
– 1. 代表性經驗法則
– 2. 可行性經驗法則
– 3. 定錨與調整經驗法則
• 代表性經驗法則（representativeness）
– 該事件主要特徵與母體主要特徵之相似程度
– 在事件行程過中，該事件的特徵被反映出來的程度
– A與B越相似，A越能代表B，A來自B的機率就越高
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代表性經驗法則(representativeness)
• 對結果之事前機率不敏感
– 受試者判斷某特徵人士為何種職業不受先天機率之影響
– 給受試者某一人格特質，要求受試者判斷其為工程師或律師
– 第一組中告知100人中有70人為工程師；第二組則相反，告
知有70人為律師。
• 對樣本大小不敏感
– 受試者面對不同樣本之抽樣，主觀抽樣分配相當一致
(理論上大樣本比較會是平均值)
– 兩家醫院，A平均每天有45個嬰兒出生，B有15個嬰兒出生。
平均每天出生之新生兒中有50％為男性。請問那家醫院一年
中新生兒超過60％為男性的日子比較多
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可用性經驗法則（Availability）
• 人類常以事件再腦中出現的容易程度，來評估一件事發生的
機率
– 由於實例是否容易回想所產生之偏誤
 熟悉程度高者容易回想：名單中有名的人多女性→認
為女性＞男性
 顯著性高者容易回想：
– 請受試者判斷閃電與中毒何者造成死亡較多？
– 多數受試者回答中毒，但是事實上閃電死亡較多，
但是因為中毒報導較多，所以受到影響。
– 由於是否容易在腦中搜尋所產生的偏誤
 由R開頭的字比第三的字母為R的字多
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定錨與調整經驗法則
• 決策者判斷由一個起始點開始，然後再考慮其他資訊。
• 起始點就是所謂的「錨」。調整的過程常符合規範性決策法則之方向，但常調
整不足。 「錨」的訂定對判斷有很大的影響
– 由大到小的連乘積會比由小到大之連乘積大。 （由於起始點較大之緣故）
– 評估連結事件與分離事件時產生之偏差
– 一般而言連結事件之機率低於基本事件之機率→ 但受試者以基本事件為起
點，向下調整常不足＝高估連結事件之機率
 例如一複雜事件，每一步驟成功機率高，但步驟多，最終成功機率低。
但決策時往往高估整體成功之機率
– 一般而言分離事件之機率高於基本事件，→ 但受試者以基本事件為起點，
向上調整常不足＝低估分離事件之機率
 五個條件任一失敗，才會失敗，但五個個別條件失敗的機率都蠻高，
此時常會高估失敗的機率。
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29
定錨與調整
• 定錨 (anchoring)
– 人類估計某些事件的數量時，會受起始值的設定所影響。
– 乘法的實驗：
 在5秒鐘之內對 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 作乘積的估
計。
 在5秒鐘之內對 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 作乘積的估
計。
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定錨與調整的範例
 正確答案為40320，前者平均答案為2250，後者平均
答案為512。
 前者由於第一個數字值較大，因此乘積的估計值較大，
反之，第一個數較小，則估計值小。
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31
那個圓圈比較大？
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Let’s Discuss (2 of 6)
• Distinguish between management’s and the auditor’s
responsibility for the financial statements being audited.
• What is the auditor’s responsibility when noncompliance
with laws or regulations is identified or suspected?審計準
則公報第72號-查核財務報表對法令遵循之考量
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Learning Objective 5.6
Identify the benefits of a cycle approach to segmenting the
audit
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Financial Statement Cycles
• Audits are performed by dividing the financial statements
into smaller segments or components
• The division makes the audit more manageable and aids
in the assignment of tasks to different members of the
audit team
• A common way to divide an audit is to keep closely related
types (or classes) of transactions and account balances in
the same segment
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Figure 5.4 Transaction Flow from
Journals to Financial Statements
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Relationships Among Cycles
• Transaction cycles are an important way to organize
audits
• Auditors treat each cycle separately during the audit
• Although auditors need to consider the interrelationships
between cycles, they typically treat cycles independently
to the extent practical to manage complex audits
effectively
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Figure 5.6 Relationships Among
Transaction Cycles
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Learning Objective 5.7
Describe why the auditor obtains assurance by auditing
transactions and ending balances, including presentation
and disclosure
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Setting Audit Objectives
• Generally, the most efficient and effective way to conduct
audits is to obtain some combination of assurance for
each class of transactions and for the ending balance in
the related accounts
• Audit objectives include:
– Transaction-related audit objectives
– Balance-related audit objectives
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Figure 5.7 Balances and Transactions
Affecting Those Balances for
Accounts Receivable
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Learning Objective 5.8
Distinguish among the management assertions(管理當局的
聲明) about financial information
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Management Assertions
• Management assertions are implied or expressed
representations by management about:
– Classes of transactions and the related accounts and
disclosures in the financial statements and
– They are directly related to the financial reporting
framework used by the company
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PCAOB Assertions
• The PCAOB describes five categories of management
assertions:
– Existence or occurrence 存在與發生
– Completeness 完整
– Valuation or allocation 評價與分攤
– Rights and obligations 權利與義務
– Presentation and disclosure 表達與揭露
*臺灣早期公報也用這五項
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International and AICPA Assertions
• International auditing standards and AICPA auditing
standards further divide management assertions into
two categories:
– Assertions about classes of transactions and events
and related disclosures for the period under audit
– Assertions about account balances and related
disclosures at period end
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Table 5-3 Management Assertions for Each Category of Assertions
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審計準則公報75(ISA 315)
• 聲明: 管理階層就財務報表中資訊之認列、表達及揭露以明
示或隱含之方式表述，用以主張財務報表依適用之財務報導
架構編制。查核於辨認、評估及因應重大不實表達風險時，
採用該等聲明以考量可能發生潛在不實表達之類型。
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於辨認並評估重大不實表達風險時，使用聲明已考量潛在
不時表達之不同類型§216
2、與期末科目餘額及相關揭露事項之聲明
1、受查期間內交易類別、事件及相關揭露
事項之聲明
• 存在：資產、負債、權益確實存在
• 發生：記錄或揭露之交易皆有發生
• 權利義務：擁有控制資產權利、負債是受
查者之義務
• 完整性：應記錄之交易均已記錄
• 正確性：記錄之交易金額及其他資料均適
當紀錄
• 完整性：A/L/E均已記錄及揭露
• 截止：交易記錄於正確會計期間
• 正確性、評價及分攤：A/L/E以適當金額
紀錄、評價與分攤適當紀錄
• 分類：交易記錄於適當科目
• 分類：A/L/E紀錄於適當科目
• 表達：交易適當匯總或細分並清楚敘述，
揭露事項係屬攸關及可了解
• 表達：A/L/E適當匯總或細分並清楚敘述，
揭露事項係屬攸關及可了解
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Assertions Lead to Audit Objectives
• Auditors may use different terms to express the
management assertions
– They should consider the relevance of each assertion
for each significant class of transactions and account
balance
• Relevant assertions have a meaningful bearing on
whether the account is fairly stated and are used to
assess the risk of material misstatement and the design
and performance of audit procedures
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Let’s Discuss (4 of 6)
• Identify the cycle to which each of the following general
ledger accounts will ordinarily be assigned:
– sales, accounts payable, retained earnings, accounts
receivable, inventory, and repairs and maintenance.
• Distinguish between the general audit objectives and
management assertions.
– Why are the general audit objectives more useful to
auditors?
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Learning Objective 5.9
Link transaction-related audit objectives to management
assertions for classes of transactions
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Transaction-Related Audit Objectives (1 of 3)
• Occurrence
– Recorded or disclosed transactions exist
• Completeness
– Existing transactions are recorded and disclosures are
included
• Accuracy
– Recorded transactions are stated at the correct
amounts and disclosures are appropriately measured
and described
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Transaction-Related Audit Objectives (2 of 3)
• Posting and Summarization
– Recorded transactions are properly included in the
master files and are correctly summarized
• Classification
– Transactions Included in the client’s journals are
properly classified
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Transaction-Related Audit Objectives (3 of 3)
• Timing
– Transactions are recorded on the correct dates
• Presentation
– Transactions are appropriately aggregated or
disaggregated and described, and disclosures are
relevant and understandable
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Learning Objective 5.10
Link balance-related audit objectives to management
assertions
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Table 5-4 Starkwood Group: Management Assertions and
Transaction-Related Audit Objectives Applied to Sales
Transactions
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General Transaction-related Audit
Objectives
56
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Balance-Related Audit Objectives
(1 of 3)
• Existence
– Amounts included exist
• Completeness
– Existing amounts and related disclosures are included
• Accuracy
– Amounts included are stated at the correct amounts,
and disclosures are appropriately measured and
described
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Balance-Related Audit Objectives
(2 of 3)
• Cutoff
– Transactions near the balance sheet date are
recorded in the proper period
• Detail tie-in
– Details in the account balance agree with related
master file amounts, foot to the total in the account
balance, and agree with the total in the general ledger
• Realizable value
– Assets are included at the amounts estimated to be
realized
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Balance-Related Audit Objectives
(3 of 3)
• Classification
– Amounts included in the client’s listing are properly
classified
• Rights and obligations
– Assets are owned or controlled by the entity, and
liabilities are obligations of the entity
• Presentation
– Amounts are appropriately aggregated or
disaggregated and described, and disclosures are
relevant and understandable
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Table 5-5 Starkwood Group: Management Assertions and
Balance-Related Audit Objectives Applied to Inventory
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61
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Learning Objective 5.11
Explain the relationship between audit objectives and the
accumulation of audit evidence
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How Audit Objectives Are Met
• Auditors follow the four phases of the audit process
to ensure that all required audit objectives are both
specified and met:
– Plan and design an audit approach (Phase I)
– Perform tests of controls and substantive tests of
transactions (Phase II)
– Perform substantive analytical procedures and tests of
details of balances (Phase III)
– Complete the audit and issue an audit report (Phase
IV)
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Figure 5.8 Four Phases of a Financial
Statement Audit
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Let’s Discuss (6 of 6)
• Identify the four phases of the audit.
– What is the relationship of the four phases to the
objective of the audit of financial statements?
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