You are a Partner in Green & Co., a firm of Chartered Accountants, with specific responsibility for the quality of audits. Green & Co. was appointed auditor of Cleanup Co, a provider of waste management services, in July 2019. You have just visited the audit team at the head office of Cleanup Co. The audit team comprises an audit manager, an audit senior, and two audit trainees.
During your visit, a review of the audit working papers revealed the following:
i) On the audit planning checklist, the audit senior has crossed through the analytical procedures section and written ‘not applicable – new client’. The audit planning checklist has not been signed off as having been reviewed.
ii) The audit manager last visited Cleanup Co.’s office when the final audit commenced two weeks ago on 1 August. The audit senior has since completed the audit of tangible non-current assets (including property and service equipment) which amount to GH¢ 600,000 as at 30 June 2019 (2018 – GH¢ 600,000). The audit manager spends most of his time working from Green & Co’s office and is currently allocated to three other assignments as well as Cleanup Co.’s audit.
iii) At 30 June 2019, trade receivables amounted to GH¢ 2.1 million (2018 – GH¢ 900,000). One of the trainees has just finished sending out requests for direct confirmation of customers’ balances as at the end of the reporting period.
iv) The other trainee has been assigned the audit of the consumable supplies, which includes inventory amounting to GH¢ 88,000 (2018 – GH¢ 53,000). The trainee has carried out tests of controls over the perpetual inventory records and confirmed the ‘roll-back’ of a sample of current quantities to book quantities as at the year end.
v) The audit manager has noted the following matter for your attention. The financial statements as at 30 June 2018 disclosed, as unquantifiable, a contingent liability for pending litigation. However, the audit manager has seen a letter confirming that the matter was settled out of court for GH¢ 450,000 on 14 September 2018. The auditor’s report on the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2018 was unmodified and signed on 19 September 2018. The audit manager believes that management of Cleanup Co. is not aware of the error and has not brought it to their attention.
Required:
Identify and comment on the implications of these findings for Green & Co’s quality control policies and procedures. (10 marks)