CPA Exam Prep — AUD: Auditing and Attestation

About this course

What you'll learn

• Apply the AICPA Code, SEC/PCAOB, GAO and DOL independence and ethics rules to engagement scenarios.
• Plan an audit: strategy, materiality, understanding the entity, internal control and IT.
• Assess and respond to risks of material misstatement due to fraud or error.
• Select, perform and evaluate tests of controls, substantive procedures, sampling and analytics.
• Evaluate misstatements, estimates, going concern, subsequent events and written representations.
• Determine the correct form and content of audit, attestation, SSARS and compliance reports.

Course details

Level

advanced

What's included

• 12 lessons
• Progress tracking
• Certificate of completion

Requirements

• Working knowledge of financial accounting (FAR-level).
• Plan roughly 15 hours of study for the lessons, before practice questions.

Curriculum

1. 01

   Lesson 1: Lesson 1 — Ethics, Independence, Professional Skepticism and Judgment

   The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and its two conceptual frameworks, SEC and PCAOB independence rules for issuer audits, GAO Government Auditing Standards and Department of Labor independence rules, and the discipline of professional skepticism and judgment.

   80m
2. 02

   Lesson 2: Lesson 2 — Engagement Types, Acceptance, Terms of Engagement and Quality Management

   Audits of issuers and nonissuers, GAGAS engagements, attestation and SSARS engagements; preconditions, predecessor communications, changes in engagement type, engagement letters; and firm-level quality management.

   75m
3. 03

   Lesson 3: Lesson 3 — Engagement Documentation and Communication with Management and Those Charged with Governance

   What makes audit documentation sufficient, assembly and retention deadlines, and the required communications about planned scope and timing and about internal control deficiencies.

   70m
4. 04

   Lesson 4: Lesson 4 — Planning, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment, and Materiality

   The overall strategy and audit plan, supporting planning materials, external factors (economics, business cycles, industry), internal factors and Sarbanes-Oxley governance, and how to calculate overall, specific and performance materiality.

   80m
5. 05

   Lesson 5: Lesson 5 — Internal Control (COSO), IT Systems and Service Organizations

   COSO's definition, components and 17 principles; entity-level controls and IT general controls; business processes, walkthroughs, IT infrastructure and applications; testing design and implementation; SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports; limitations of control and management override.

   85m
6. 06

   Lesson 6: Lesson 6 — Assessing and Responding to Risks of Material Misstatement, Using Others, and Specific Risk Areas

   The audit risk model, fraud risk factors and required fraud procedures, inherent and control risk at the assertion level, overall and assertion-level responses, analytics in risk assessment, using internal auditors, specialists and component auditors, and specific risk areas: laws and regulations, estimates, related parties and single audits.

   90m
7. 07

   Lesson 7: Lesson 7 — Data and Information, Sufficient Appropriate Evidence, and Audit Sampling

   Relational databases and measurement scales, data extraction, transformation and validation, reliability of information produced by the entity, data analytics, the sufficiency and appropriateness of evidence, and statistical and nonstatistical sampling for tests of controls and tests of details.

   85m
8. 08

   Lesson 8: Lesson 8 — Audit Procedures: Tests of Controls, Tests of Details, Analytical Procedures and Confirmations

   Observation, inspection, recalculation, reperformance and inquiry; analyzing interview responses; testing operating effectiveness and analyzing exceptions; tests of details; substantive and final analytical procedures; and external confirmations.

   85m
9. 09

   Lesson 9: Lesson 9 — Special Matters, Misstatements, Written Representations and Subsequent Events

   Auditing estimates and fair values, investments, inventory and inventory held by others, litigation, going concern and single-audit compliance; summarizing and evaluating misstatements and control deficiencies; written representations; subsequent events and subsequently discovered facts.

   95m
10. 10

    Lesson 10: Lesson 10 — The Auditor's Report: Opinions, Paragraphs, ICFR, Comparatives, Other Information and Special-Purpose Frameworks

    How the auditor forms an opinion, the structure of the unmodified report, modified opinions, emphasis-of-matter and other-matter paragraphs, going concern and consistency, critical and key audit matters, the integrated ICFR report, comparative statements, other information, and reports on special-purpose frameworks.

    95m
11. 11

    Lesson 11: Lesson 11 — Attestation Reports and Accounting and Review Services Reports

    Examination and review reports on subject matter and assertions, agreed-upon procedures reports, and SSARS preparation, compilation and review engagements and reports, including independence and modification issues.

    85m
12. 12

    Lesson 12: Lesson 12 — Compliance Reporting, Government Auditing Standards, Interim Reviews and Supplementary Information

    Reporting on compliance in a financial statement audit and in attestation engagements, GAGAS reports on internal control and compliance, single-audit reporting, reviews of interim financial information, supplementary information and required supplementary information, and a final review of reporting decisions.

    80m