Question Tag: Toxic Emissions

You are partner for a firm called Konamoah & Associates, who are auditors for Aluco, an aluminium processing company. Aluco has several issues with its aluminium and steel byproducts, including toxic emissions and a poor health and safety record for employees in the workshop. Aluco has proven to be very lucrative for your firm and you are busy planning the coming year’s audit visits after agreeing to continue this engagement some weeks earlier. The by-products arising from the production process include the following:

• Sharp metallic fragments that require disposal under an annually granted licence.
• Toxic exhaust gases that require treatment by a specific filter.
• Carcinogenic oil that require storage in underground bunkers. Aluco is in the process of installing a new filter to process toxic exhaust gases. This represents an investment of GH¢2,000,000 and is material to the financial statements. The new filter is expected to reduce the number of toxic leaks that the company has caused by over 90%, although the suppliers of the filter, Adamah Enterprises, have only just rushed this product onto the market. In the last five years, Aluco has been fined material amounts of between GH¢200,000 and GH¢400,000 by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, so this new filter is expected to reduce their liability substantially. During an initial planning meeting held at Aluco, the Finance Director Frank Afful suggested to you that the year’s provision for toxic emission fines be removed as the new filter is likely to reduce these to negligible amounts. He has also mentioned that Aluco will need to start supplying information to assist with the metallic fragment disposal licence application and asked if your firm would be interested in providing assurance on the information required. Required: a) As the Audit Partner, justify the need for any provisions in respect of toxic emission fines. (4 marks) b) What audit procedures are you required to perform to determine the most appropriate treatment of both the new filter and the provision in the financial statements of Aluco and any possible worst case impact on your audit report? (10 marks) c) Identify SIX risks that your firm might have by agreeing to provide required assurance for Aluco’s application for a disposal licence. (6 marks)