What is the Agile Audit Response Table (ART)?

What is the Agile Audit Response Table (ART)?

The Audit Response Tables (ARTs) may take a moment to load initially.
By design, the ART tables and optimiser question are hidden. 

Displaying the ARTs optimiser question and tables


First, open the OPT Optimiser
  1. Press the “...” menu to display options
  2. Press the checkbox to turn on Hidden Items
  3. Select Yes if you wish to display the ARTs in the Phase B Risk Response programs.


The Audit Response Tables (ARTs) is a summary table which links the risk assessment of an audit area to its risk response workpaper. This summary table will assist with assessing the appropriate nature and extent of audit procedures to address each relevant assertion. 

To understand how the Audit Response Tables work, it is important to identify the different stages of the Audit workflow and how it's associated with the ART table. 


1. Ensure Risks have been identified and documented
  1. Any potential risks identified during the audit can be recorded in the Agile audit engagement. Risks can either be added from the Agile Risk Library or can be manually added by the user.
  2. When adding assertion level risks into an Agile audit engagement, users will need to select the specific financial statement area that it is associated with. For example, if the risk being recorded is affecting cash and cash equivalents, then the financial statement area of cash and cash equivalents will have to be linked to the risk along with the relevant assertions (Completeness, Existence, Accuracy and Valuation and Presentation)

  1. All risks recorded in an engagement can be viewed in the 2-240 Risk report document. Users can use the expand icon next to a risk if further changes/details are required.

2. Complete the “Risk Assessment” form
  1. Once the relevant risks have been identified and documented, users can use the 2-250 Risk assessment report document to assess the risk of material misstatements at the financial statement level.
  2. Users can use the expand icon next to an audit area to do the risk assessment for that area.
  3. Any risks recorded against the area will be highlighted next to the relevant assertions based on the type of risks identified. In this example, fraud and significant risks have been identified, which are being highlighted next to the C, E and AV assertions in the Risk assessment document.

  1. The user will then need to complete the risk assessment to determine the inherent risk rating and the risk of material misstatement for the applicable areas. Please refer to this FAQ on how to use the 2-250 Risk assessment worksheet for more information.
  2. Once a risk assessment area has been completed and the risk of material misstatement have been identified, the user doing the risk assessment will then need to sign off that risk assessment area.

Note: The risk assessment for a financial statement area has to be completed in order for the relevant risk response program to appear in the Agile engagement under Phase B - Risk response. 
3. Determine the selections in the ARTs in workpapers B.10 to X.10
  1. Once the risk assessment for the relevant financial statement areas have been done against the required assertions, this will then enable the risk response program for that area under Phase B - Risk response.
  2. In this example, we are looking at the B.10 - Cash and cash equivalents. At the top of the risk response document, users can view the Audit response table for cash and cash equivalents.
  3. Risk assessment done for the audit area will be linked to the Audit response table. The risk of material misstatement selected for the audit area in the risk assessment report will appear under Assertions in the ART.

  1. Sign offs done against the audit area in the risk assessment report will also show in the audit response table.
Note: When an audit area is signed off in the risk assessment area, it essentially locks down the assertions part of the ART. If the user goes into the risk assessment report and makes a change to the risk of material misstatement for that area, the user will need to remove the signoff from the area in the risk assessment report. This will enable the ART to be updated with the recent changes made to the relevant risk assessment area. 
Summary of proposed audit responses
  1. The Summary of proposed audit responses will show a summary of the groups of procedures that exist within the risk response programs in Agile Audit. The groups of procedures are Tests of Controls, Substantive Analytical Procedures and Substantive Tests of Detail. Details of the procedures under each group are listed below the ART.
  2. The user will need to consider their understanding of the entity, risks recorded and the risk assessment for the audit and determine which procedures are required for each assertion.
  3. The user can then select in the ART what tests they will perform for this audit area. For example, if the user needs to perform Tests of Controls for Cash and cash equivalents for the assertions of Completeness, Existence and Accuracy and Valuation, then they will need to click on the check box next to Test of controls under the relevant assertions. 


  1. If the user does not select the checkboxes next to Test of Controls, they will get a Warning: Overauditing symbol.
  1. This is because by not clicking on the checkboxes under the relevant assertion for that particular group of procedures (for example Test of Controls), the user is essentially telling the risk response program that they will not be doing Tests of control for this audit area. However, the Test of controls procedures are still displayed in the risk response program below, which then leads to the Overauditing warning.


  1. If the user does not want to do Tests of controls for this audit area, then they will need to hide the Test of controls procedure group in the Risk response program. To hide the group of procedures, click on the icon next to Test of controls group heading and select Hide.

  2. This will hide the Test of Controls procedure group from this risk response program and therefore remove the Overauditing warning from the ART.
  3. Similarly, if users are getting the Underauditing warning next to a group of procedures under one or more assertions, it means that the user has selected to carry out the group of procedures against those assertions in the risk response program. However the actual group of procedures below has been hidden, thus triggering the Underauditing warning. 



  1. In this case, the user will need to go and make sure that the Test of controls is set to Show in the Risk response program. To do this, click on the More actions icon in the top right hand corner of the risk response program and tick Hidden items.

  1. This will display all hidden procedures in the document. Click on the icon next to the hidden Test of controls procedure group and select Show. Then toggle off Hidden items again.

  1. The ART should no longer show the Underauditing symbol for Test of controls. 

Other errors appearing in the Audit Response Table

 1. A procedure addresses assertions that have been defined as not applicable for this audit program.
 This error will appear if there is one or more procedures in the risk response program that have one or more assertions different to the assertions selected for that audit area in the risk assessment workpaper. 

For example, the risk of material misstatement for Cash and cash equivalents have been calculated for the assertions of Completeness, Existence and Accuracy and Valuation. In the Risk response program, there is a procedure which is linked to Presentation (P) assertion. Because this assertion was not selected in the risk assessment of the audit area, it is being flagged. Users can use the  symbol next to the procedure to hide it, which will then remove the warning message. 

2. You selected No to the Will you be testing controls? question on the Risks Assessment page. The Test of controls procedures display in this audit program.
Users might get this error if they have selected No to the question of Testing controls in the Risk assessment form. This question is located within each area in the risk assessment form. 

If the user selects No to the above question, it should automatically hide the Test of controls in the Risk response document for that area. 
But the below warning message will be triggered if the Test of Controls were set to Show instead of Default settings.


In this case, simply set the visibility of the group to Use Default settings instead of Show. 


This will pick the response set in the “Will you be testing controls?” question and auto hide the procedures.

Signing off the ART
  1. Once work has been completed for the relevant Audit response table, the user can click on the Lock and Sign off button to sign off and lock down the ART for this risk response program.

  1. Once the user clicks on the Lock and Sign off button, it will lock down the ART and sign off the table with the date and name of the user signing off.

  1. Once the ART is signed off, no further changes can be made to that ART unless the sign off is cleared.
  2. If there is a change made to the risk assessment for that area, the changes will not flow into the ART for that risk response program unless the sign off has been cleared. 
  1. The user will need to confirm that the sign off and lockdown of the table is being removed.



Additional points to consider:
  1. Both the ART and the procedures within the Risk Response programs will have to be individually signed off.
  2. Any Custom audit areas added to the Risk assessment report cannot be linked to a risk response program and the audit response table. 




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