This advanced-level course builds upon foundational knowledge from Audit and Assurance (2.3) and equips students with the expertise to perform the responsibilities of a registered auditor in Ghana and international contexts. Designed for aspiring chartered accountants, it emphasizes applying International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI), while addressing public sector audits, ethical dilemmas, and contemporary issues. Students will develop skills to plan, execute, and report on audits for various entities; evaluate risks, evidence, and internal controls; and navigate regulatory frameworks, corporate governance, and emerging trends like technology in auditing. Through scenario-based learning and ethical integration, participants will learn to exercise professional skepticism, communicate findings effectively, and contribute to accountability in private and public sectors, preparing them for roles in audit practice, assurance services, and regulatory compliance.

The course syllabus is structured around key areas, with examination weightings guiding the emphasis on each topic. Below is an itemized breakdown per syllabus weighting:

• Nature of Audit and Assurance (10%): Defines and explains the nature of audit and assurance engagements, including components of assurance, auditing as part of assurance and corporate governance, objectives and needs for auditing in private and public sectors; differentiates between assurance and audit for profit, not-for-profit, and public entities; covers principles of compliance, performance, and financial audits; discusses causes of audit failure, the audit expectation gap, and responsibility for fraud prevention and detection.
• Regulatory, Professional and Ethical Issues (15%): Explains purposes and consequences of laws and regulations for audit work, including Companies Act 2019 (Act 992), International Standards on Auditing overview, relevant Acts like Banks and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act and Insurance Act; covers auditor appointment, duties, rights, resignation, and institutional regulation by IFAC, ICAG, and Internal Audit Agency; outlines standard-setting processes and authority of international standards; applies IFAC ethical principles, identifies threats and safeguards, and emphasizes professional skepticism and judgment in ethical situations.
• Accepting and Managing Engagements (10%): Identifies factors for accepting audit or assurance engagements, including legal, professional, and ethical considerations; addresses risk areas like fraud, error, non-compliance, liability; covers terms of engagement and related documentation.
• Planning for Engagements (15%): Identifies audit or assurance risks in context, including business environment understanding, risks from technological developments, methods to gain understanding, expert consultation, implications for planning; plans engagements addressing risk components (inherent, control, detection), fraud inquiries, materiality assessment, preliminary analytical procedures; determines approaches considering internal control systems, transaction cycles (sales, purchases, employee costs), control evaluation, communication/documentation of controls, reliance on experts/other auditors, and resource planning.
• Engagement Evidence (15%): Determines evidence nature and scope, using assertions for income statement, statement of financial position, presentation/disclosure; methods of gathering evidence (inspection, observation, inquiry, confirmation, recalculation, re-performance, analytical procedures); audits specific items with tests of control and substantive procedures for assets, liabilities, equity; covers sampling, testing means, automated techniques like data analytics and AI; using work of other auditors or experts.
• Audit Review (10%): Explains purposes and processes of completion procedures, including subsequent events, going concern evaluation, written representations, and analytical procedures at conclusion stage.
• Concluding and Reporting (10%): Outlines procedures to conclude assignments; explains basic elements of audit reports; drafts reports for engagements, including communication with governance/management, internal control deficiencies, forming opinions, modifications to opinions, and extracts for audit/assurance reports.
• Internal Audit (5%): Defines and explains internal audit’s role in relation to assurance and external audit, including scope, Internal Audit Agency’s role in public sector, corporate governance contributions, differences from external audit, outsourcing, assignments, and risk-based internal audit.
• Auditing in the Public Sector (10%): Identifies key differences between private and public sector audits; explains public sector auditing structure in Ghana; covers compliance audits, performance audits for economical/efficient/effective management of public funds/resources (especially procurement); assesses and reports on public financial management per Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA).