On-Demand

2 CPE

Auditing Bits in Bytes™ Session 1: Pre-Engagement Planning Activities

On-Demand
2 CPE
  • View Bio

    Instructor

    Jennifer
    Louis

    View Bio

    Jennifer Louis, CPA

    Bio

    Jennifer F. Louis, CPA has over 25 years of experience in designing and instructing high-quality training programs in a wide variety of technical and “soft skills” topics needed for professional and organizational success. Jennifer focuses her energy on designing and delivering high-quality and engaging accounting and auditing training. Prior to founding Emergent Solutions Group, LLC, she was Director of Audit Product Development at Surgent Professional Education.

    In 2003 she founded Emergent Solutions Group, LLC, where she focuses her energy on designing and delivering high-quality, practical and engaging accounting and auditing training. She was most recently Director of Audit Product Development at Surgent Professional Education, and prior to that served as Executive Vice President/Director of Training Services at AuditWatch, Inc., a highly-respected training and audit process consulting firm. Before joining AuditWatch, Jennifer was the Financial/Operational Audit Manager at AARP. At the start of her professional career, Jennifer was an Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she frequently served as a local and national instructor. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from Marymount University with a BBA-Accounting. She currently resides in Charlotte, NC.

This 2-hour session is designed to provide participants with a solid understanding of the important judgment calls that are made before the audit engagement even begins. While these decisions are made by the audit partner/manager, the impact of these conclusions has a direct impact on the entire engagement team.

Professional judgment calls at this early stage influence the auditor’s assessed risk of material misstatement (i.e., “what could go wrong” in the client’s financial statements due to fraud or error). In addition, safeguards to protect and preserve threats to independence and objectivity are designed at this stage of the audit.

Develop a game plan for successful audits, learn more about MACPA’s Auditing Bits in Bytes™.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the important activities that are performed before the audit engagement even begins, such as gathering information about engagement risk
  • Explain the important considerations in making engagement acceptance and continuance decisions, including evaluating independence
  • Define what should be communicated when establishing and understanding with the client, including when nonattest services are provided for an attest client
  • Recognize the professional judgments made early in the audit that establish the foundation for a high quality and profitable engagement, including initial and group financial statement audit engagements

Major Topics

  • Engagement Acceptance/Continuance Decisions – Documentation requirements and key engagement risk considerations
  • Independence & Objectivity – Identifying threats and implementing appropriate safeguards to mitigate or eliminate them to comply with current professional and regulatory standards
  • Establishing an Understanding with the Client – What is important to communicate to clients and why, including scope of both non-attest and attest services and responsibilities of client management and accountants
  • Initial Audits – Special considerations of a successor auditor
  • Group Audits – Clarifying pre-engagement roles and responsibilities of group and component auditors in audits of group financial statements
  • Extensive illustrative examples will be used to reinforce a practical understanding of the most critical principles and standards that support a high-quality, insightful, and profitable engagement

CPE Credits Available

2 CPE
2
Auditing

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

  • Basic

Professional Area of Focus

  • Accounting & Auditing

Prerequisites

  • None

Advanced Preparation

None  SPEAKER BIO

Intended Audience

  • Anyone who is new to auditing or desires a refresher in how to perform effective and efficient financial statement audits for non-issuers in accordance with professional and regulatory standards.

Provider

AICPA

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