This course examines the role of auditing and assurance in the assessment of the reliability of corporate financial information primarily in the context of the Australian institutional and legal environment, but cognisant of other jurisdictions too. This examination includes reviewing the fundamental concepts of assurance provision, especially in the context of the audit of financial reports, gaining an understanding of requirements of auditors and other assurance providers pursuant to auditing standards, introducing basic audit and assurance techniques and procedures, and provision of an appropriate level of assurance on financial reports.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of the requirements for this course, students will be able to:
a) discuss the need for an independent audit and assurance function and briefly describe the development of the role of the external and internal auditor in modern business society;
b) explain the regulatory environment in which the auditor operates (including relevant sections of the Corporations Act 2001 and the auditing standards issued by the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB)) as well as the ethical pronouncements issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB), and apply those rules, standards and pronouncements to the conduct of financial report audit and review engagements;
c) describe the quality control procedures necessary to ensure that a competent audit or review engagement is performed;
d) follow the development of case law in respect of the definition of auditor's responsibilities to clients and to third parties;
e) understand the audit and assurance process, beginning with gaining an understanding of the client and its associated business risks, followed by the assessment of controls to manage, mitigate or share those risks, followed again by the development of an audit program of tests of control and substantive tests and ending in the communication of the results to the shareholders;
f) work with the concepts of audit risk and assurance, and audit testing procedures (including computer assisted auditing testing procedures) grouped by financial report and hence audit assertions, for major transaction types and account balances across the accounting cycles;
g) describe the various levels of persuasiveness of different types of audit evidence and explain the broad principles of audit sampling techniques;
h) determine the appropriateness, in different circumstances, of different types of audit and review reports and write (prepare) such reports;
i) apply recent academic research to the theory and practice of financial report audits.
In addition, the course aims to develop students’ cognitive skills (especially analytical and appreciative skills) and behavioural skills (especially personal and interpersonal skills).
Other Information
See the course outline on the College courses page. Outlines are uploaded as they become available.
Indicative Assessment
- Weekly Assignment 10%
- Mid Semester Examination 20%
- Group Assignment 15%
- Final Examination 55%
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours a week to completing the work. This will include 3 hours per week in class and at least 7 hours a week on average (including non-teaching weeks) on course reading, research, writing and assignment work.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Assumed Knowledge
This course is designed to be taken in the final semester of an accounting major. You are expected to have retained familiarity with the concepts previously studied in accounting, introductory commercial law, information systems and introductory statistics courses.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Students continuing in their current program of study will have their tuition fees indexed annually from the year in which you commenced your program. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $2922 | |
| 2014 | $3246 | |
| 2013 | $3240 | |
| 2012 | $3240 | |
| 2011 | $3240 | |
| 2010 | $3240 | |
| 2009 | $3240 | |
| 2008 | $3240 | |
| 2007 | $3240 | |
| 2006 | $3240 | |
| 2005 | $3234 | |
| 2004 | $3234 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $2922 |
| 2014 | $3948 |
| 2013 | $3942 |
| 2012 | $3942 |
| 2011 | $3942 |
| 2010 | $3942 |
| 2009 | $3618 |
| 2008 | $3618 |
| 2007 | $3618 |
| 2006 | $3534 |
| 2005 | $3234 |
| 2004 | $3234 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3368 | 17 Feb 2014 | 07 Mar 2014 | 31 Mar 2014 | 30 May 2014 | In Person | N/A |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7364 | 21 Jul 2014 | 08 Aug 2014 | 31 Aug 2014 | 30 Oct 2014 | In Person | N/A |