Course Brief The objective of this course is to provide you with an intensive conceptual and applied introduction to assurance services in organizations. In particular, this course focuses on an examination of assurance services provided by Independent Auditors particularly the Big-four auditors and also considers assurance services beyond financial statement audits conducted by non-Independent auditors. To successfully contribute to this course, you should anticipate engaging in critical thinking and thoughtful communication about assurance professionals' decision environments, decision-making processes and deliverables.
1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF ASSURANCE IN ORGANIZATIONS 2. ASSURANCE RISK, ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE & PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT 3. SUSTAINTABILITY ASSURANCE 4. ATTESTATION PROCESS AND ALTERNATIVE RISK MODELS 5. STRATEGIC SYSTEMS AUDITING (SSA) 6. SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS PROCESSES 7. PLANNING VERIFICATION OF MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS 8. SPECIAL TOPICS IN ASSURANCE
1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF ASSURANCE IN ORGANIZATIONS 1.1 Conceptual Framework of Assurance in organizations 1.2 Conceptual Framework I: - Assurance Universe - Assurance Demand 1.3 Conceptual Framework II: - Types of Assertions 1.4 Conceptual Framework III: - Auditor Independence - Audit Quality Indicators - The PCAOB Inspection Process - The Auditor’s Reporting Model - Big Data & Data Analytics 2. ASSURANCE RISK, ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE & PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT 3. SUSTAINTABILITY ASSURANCE 4. ATTESTATION PROCESS AND ALTERNATIVE RISK MODELS 5. STRATEGIC SYSTEMS AUDITING (SSA): 5.1 Strategic Analysis of a Client and its Business Processes Strategic Systems Auditing (SSA) 5.2 Audit Evidence 5.3 Internal Control Evaluation 5.4 Analytical Procedures 6. SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS PROCESSES: 6.1 Purchasing (Accounts Payable) 6.2 Invoicing (Accounts Receivable) 6.3 Inventory (Costing) 7. PLANNING VERIFICATION OF MANAGEMENT ASSERTIONS 7.1 Verification of Management Assertions 8. SPECIAL TOPICS IN ASSURANCE 8.1 Forensic Accounting 8.2 Financial Statement Fraud 8.3 Quality Assurance 8.4 Completing the Attest Engagement 8.5 End of assurance negotiation
MAIN BIBLIOGRAPHY: MGP: Messier, W. F., S. M. Glover, and D. F. Prawitt. (2012). Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach. Eighth Edition. McGraw Hill. BPS: Bell, T. B., M. E. Peecher, and I. Solomon. (2005). The 21st Century Public Company Audit: Conceptual Elements of KPMG’s Global Audit Methodology. KPMG LLP. Available at http://www.business.illinois.edu/kpmg-uiuccases/monograph.html or on the course website. Outside Readings. Most of these readings are available electronically at the UIUC Library (http://www.library.illinois.edu) or on the course website. COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY: Klein, D. B. (2002). The Demand for and Supply of Assurance. In Market Failure or Success: The New Debate. Eds. Cowen, T. and E. Crampton. Edward Elgar: Northampton, MA. Minnis, M. (2011). The Value of Financial Statement Verification in Debt Financing. Journal of Accounting Research 49 (2): 457-506. Davis, L.R., B. S. Soo, and G. M. Trompeter. (2009). Auditor Tenure and the Ability to Meet or Beat Earnings Forecasts. Contemporary Accounting Research 26 (2): 517-548. Carey, P. and R. Simnett. (2006). Audit Partner Tenure and Audit Quality. The Accounting Review 81 (3): 653-676. Francis, J. (2011). A Framework for Understanding and Researching Audit Quality. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 30 (2): 125-152. Lennox, C. and J. Pittman. (2010). Auditing the Auditors: Evidence on the Recent Reforms to the External Monitoring of Audit Firms. Journal of Accounting and Economics 49 (1-2): 84-103. DeFond, M. (2010). How Should the Auditors be Audited? Comparing the PCAOB Inspections with the AICPA Peer Reviews. Journal of Accounting and Economics 49 (1-2): 104-108. Mock, T. J.., J. Bedard, P. J. Coram, S. M. Davis, R. Espahbodi, and R. C. Warne. (2013). The Audit Reporting Model: Current Research Synthesis and Implications. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 32 (1): 323-351. Czerney, K., J. J. Schmidt, and A. M. Thompson. (2013). Does auditor “commentary” in unqualified audit reports reflect financial misstatement risk? Working Paper. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Texas at Austin. Titera, W.R. (2013). Updating Audit Standard – Enabling Audit Data Analysis. Journal of Information Systems 27 (1): 325-331. KPMG LLP. (2012). Big Data: The Risks and Rewards Locked in Vast Oceans of Data. Accessed on: August 21, 2013 http://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/big-data-oceans.pdf. Imoniana, J. O.; Silva, R. M. (2013). Revisiting the concepts of Forensic Accounting and Corporate Fraud. International Journal of Auditing Technology 1 (2) 175-202. 2013. Bowlin. K. (2011). Risk-Based Auditing, Strategic Prompts, and Auditor Sensitivity to the Strategic Risk of Fraud. The Accounting Review 86 (4): 1231-1253. 2011.