How to use the Agile Independence Questionnaire?

How to use the Agile Independence Questionnaire?

Introduction

The Agile audit solution offers three independence workpapers which assist auditors with the application of the independence requirements of both the Corporations Act 2001 (if applicable) and APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. 


There are three independence workpapers that should be completed in order to assist the audit team in confirming independence:

  1. 1-000 - Independence Questionnaires 

  2. 1-005 - Independence Summary

  3. 4-720 - Independence Sign-Off

1-000 Independence Questionnaires

1-000 Independence Questionnaires is designed to assist each team member to determine if they have any independence issues with the firm. Each team member must create their own questionnaire and review all questions to confirm there are no conflicts of interest.


Creating your own Independence Questionnaire

Upon opening 1-000 Independence Questionnaires the workpaper will be empty and will say No form to show.

  1. Press the New button to create your copy of an Independence Questionnaire.

  1. If you have created one earlier, use the Navigation buttons or drop-down to select your questionnaire.


  1. If you wish to delete a questionnaire, use the Navigation buttons or drop-down to select the questionnaire you wish to delete, and press the Delete button and Yes to Confirm Deletion.




Independence Questionnaire options

After you create your individual Independence Questionnaire, each team member must enter their Name and Role to generate the list of questions.

  1. Name of Engagement Member. Enter your first and last name into the input box provided.

  2. Role of Engagement Member. This is your role on the job. Select either Engagement Partner or Other Team Members. If you choose Other Team Members, you will need to select your specific role from the Other Team Member’s Role drop-down.

    Note: The Engagement Partner will generate the largest questionnaire as they are answering on behalf of the firm. Other Team Members, despite your specific role, will all have the same level of questions to answer for this engagement.

  3. Type of Audit Engagement. This is determined in OPT Optimiser to ensure all team members answer a consistent questionnaire for the appropriate type of engagement.




Answering the questions 

Once you have established your own Independence Questionnaire component, you are now ready to answer the questions. 


Note: The Independence Questionnaire is designed to only require you to select the checkbox in the Conflict column if there is actually a suspected Conflict of interest. If there are no independence matters or Conflicts of interest, proceed to the bottom of the document and sign-off the conclusion.


If a conflict exists you will need to:


  1. Check the Conflict checkbox next to the requirement you are filling out.

  2. Enter a Comment explaining the conflict and why it may be an independence issue.

Recommended: Create a review point using the flag icon to help track any further work that needs to be performed on the engagement.


Signing off Audit Conclusions

The Audit Conclusion provides you with an area to confirm all the information you have documented is accurate and complete. 


The Audit Conclusions are customisable and can be manipulated for additional documentation if required. Furthermore, if you have marked one or more conflicts above, the wording in the conclusion will automatically adjust to reflect this.

Press the SignOff button at the bottom to sign-off your independence questionnaire. Your name and date will automatically appear.

Press the Remove SignOff button to remove your sign-off. The name and date will disappear.

You can also modify the date value to a specific time.


1-005 Independence Summary

1-005 Independence Summary is designed to provide the engagement partner with an overview of their staff and potential independence issues, prior to starting the engagement.


This Independence Summary will indicate;


  • the number of independence questionnaires completed by each team member; 

  • the status of the independence questionnaires (a questionnaire missing a signed conclusion is considered incomplete); and 

  • if any 'conflict of interest' raised in a team member(s) independence questionnaire.




Conclusion not signed

If a team member has not signed the conclusion at the bottom of their component in 1-000 Independence Questionnaires, will this result in a Not Signed in the Conclusion Signed? column. To fix this, you must open your Independence Questionnaire in 1-000, by either

  • Pressing the pen icon () next to your name in the 1-005 Independence Summary. This will open a window of your Independence Questionnaire.

Alternatively, press your name in the 1-005 Independence Summary table and press Jump to source on the prompt. This will open 1-000 Independence Questionnaires 1-000 Independence Questionnaires and select your Independence Questionnaire.




Relationship between 2-600 and 4-750 

2-600 Overall Audit Strategy
The Engagement Team members table in 2-600 Overall Audit Strategy is linked to the engagement team members who have been documented in the 1-000 Independence Questionnaires. 

The automated table in 2-600 can be activated via the OPT Optimiser.


However, prior to our release in April 2024, the original Engagement Team table in 2-600 Overall Audit Strategy was input only. If you wish to preserve your original documentation in the original engagement team table, then select No to this question.

This is the automatic table that shows up automatically in 2-600 Overall Audit Strategy.
The Name and Position columns are locked to information entered in the 1-000 Independence Questionnaires document. However the Years on engagement and Assignment of work columns are both input.

4-750 Partner and Manager Summary

Like the 2-600 Overall Audit Strategy document, the new 4-750 Partner and Manager Summary document is also linked to the information entered in the 1-000 Independence Questionnaires document (refer to FAQ for more information).

4-720 Independence Sign-Off

4-720 Independence Sign-Off is designed to provide all team members with the ability to re-confirm their independence at the conclusion of the engagement. Rather than completing the 'Independence Questionnaire' again, you can simply reconfirm independence by selecting the Sign-off checkbox next to your name.


Navigating back to my Independence Questionnaire


The 4-720 Independence Sign-Off workpaper is designed more to reconfirm independence rather than editing the 1-000 Independence Questionnaires component. However if you need to navigate back to the source component within 1-000 Independence Questionnaires, press arrow icon () next to your name. This will open a window of your Independence Questionnaire.




Problems with Independence Questionnaire 4-720 table

If you are experiencing problems with the 4-720 Independence Questionnaire table, press the checkbox next to the sentence:


“Toggle to view the new table for the questionnaire if the existing table do not work as expected” 


This will turn off the old table and reinsert the new one for the end-user to sign-off.




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