What are some 'Hints' to save time when gathering the evidence for an audit file?

What are some 'Hints' to save time when gathering the evidence for an audit file?

Gathering audit evidence is generally the longest stage of the engagement. Below are some tips to consider to save time:
Scanning Documentation
  • Avoid scanning a document that you could get electronically.  Ask the client if you can get the information in a soft copy as this is always easier and more efficient to deal with.
  • Do not set the resolution too high on the scanned document.  Setting DPI’s greater than 200 for scanned documents will lead to unnecessarily large images.
  • Check to make sure client scanned documents are not too big before attaching to the file.  Also, watch out for client documents that contain unnecessary pages.
  • Avoid scanning documents that you don’t really need.  Superfluous documents waste significant time as they have to be scanned, annotated, signed off, and reviewed.
  • Avoid cross referencing documents before they are scanned into the file.  Instead, use the cross referencing feature of CaseWare Working Papers.
  • For new users, until you are comfortable with tick marks in Working Papers, try tick marking manually prior to scanning the document.
Microsoft Word and Excel documents in CaseWare
  • Avoid attaching unnecessary Word or Excel documents.  Just because a client can produce an Excel spreadsheet does not mean it is useful audit evidence.
  • Remember to avoid client produced schedules for immaterial balances and/or reconciliations that do not address the assertions at risk.
  • Avoid including large dumps of general ledger or account balance information that serves no purpose as audit evidence.
  • Remember not to “link” to document but to ensure that a copy of the file exists in the CaseWare data directory so that the document will always be accessible no matter where you work on it.

    • Related Articles

    • Agile Audit Process Map

      The Agile Audit process map attached in this FAQ below illustrate the best methodology to use our CaseWare Agile Audit for an audit engagement. To go alongside the process map, a series of FAQs are below to provide details on parts of the process ...

    • SMSF Audit letter and workpaper templates

      With the assistance of our SMSF Audit content provider, we have developed the following letter and work papers templates for SMSF auditors to use - all are attached at the bottom of this FAQ. These template letters and work papers can be tailored by ...

    • How do I save files from CaseWare Cloud into my engagement file

      If you use CaseWare Cloud as a secure client portal, you may have documents and supporting work papers submitted to you by the administrator through CaseWare Cloud. If these documents form part of your audit evidence, you will need to save them into ...

    • How to create a Combined Audit and Financials Engagement File?

      To create a combined Audit and Financial Engagement File, follow the steps below. Prerequisites: A combined file can only be created if both the Audit Systems and Financial IFRS templates are installed. Audit Systems Template Financials IFRS Template ...

    • Audit System 2022 Update Inclusions

      As this year’s Audit System update includes a few significant changes, we want to provide some helpful information on what is coming in the lead up to assist with planning for any upcoming internal training and 31 December audit engagements. NOTE: As ...