All Posts by Charles Hall

Confirmation of Receivables: Is It Required?

By Charles Hall | Auditing

When is the confirmation of receivables required?

Confirmation of Receivables is Usually Required

AU-C 330 paragraph 20 states the following:

The auditor should use external confirmation procedures for accounts receivable, except when one or more of the following is applicable:

1. The overall account balance is immaterial.
2. External confirmation procedures for accounts receivable would be ineffective.
3. The auditor’s assessed level of risk of material misstatement at the relevant assertion level is low, and the other planned substantive procedures address the assessed risk. In many situations, the use of external confirmation procedures for accounts receivable and the performance of other substantive procedures are necessary to reduce the assessed risk of material misstatement to an acceptably low level.

If receivables are material and confirmation procedures will be effective, then confirmations must be sent. (Normally, the existence assertion related to receivables is moderate to high. So, 3. above is not in play.)

When are Confirmations Ineffective?

AU-C 330.A56 states:

External confirmation procedures may be ineffective when based on prior years’ audit experience or experience with similar entities:

• response rates to properly designed confirmation requests will be inadequate; or
• responses are known or expected to be unreliable.

If the auditor has experienced poor response rates to properly designed confirmation requests in prior audits, the auditor may instead consider changing the manner in which the confirmation process is performed, with the objective of increasing the response rates or may consider obtaining audit evidence from other sources.

Alternative Procedures When Confirmations are not Sent

What audit procedure should be performed if confirmations are not sent? Usually, the auditor will examine cash collections after the period-end. Care must be taken to ensure that the subsequent collections examined relate to receivables that existed at period-end and not to sales occurring after period-end.

Required Documentation When Confirmations are not Sent

AU-C 330.31 states that “the auditor should include in the audit documentation the basis for any determination not to use external confirmation procedures for accounts receivable when the account balance is material.” So, it is not sufficient to simply state that the use of confirmations is ineffective. We should state that we tried to confirm receivables in a prior year without effective results or that we tried to confirm receivables for clients in a similar industry, but without effective results.

The auditor should include a memo to the file or add comments on the receivables work paper explaining why confirmations were not sent.

See my post: Auditing Receivables and Revenues.

Bookkeeping, Preparations, Compilations, and Reviews

By Charles Hall | Preparation, Compilation & Review

Today, we’ll answer various questions regarding bookkeeping, preparations, compilations, and review engagement.

Q: Should I issue management letters for preparation, compilation, or review engagements?

A: While not required, it is advisable to provide management letters when performing SSARS services. Why? Two reasons: (1) It’s a way to add value to the engagement, and (2) it’s a way to protect yourself from potential litigation. Clients do–sometimes–sue CPAs in these so-called “lower risk” engagements. If we see control weaknesses (while performing a compilation for example), we should communicate those–even though standards don’t require it. Then, if theft occurs in that area and you are later sued regarding the fraud, you have a defense. If you don’t issue a management letter, at least send an email regarding the issues noted and retain a copy.

Q: Why obtain an engagement letter for nonattest services such as bookkeeping and tax (standards don’t require it)?

A: In all engagements, we want to state exactly what we are doing. Why? So, it is obvious what the client has hired us to do–and what they have not hired us to do. If a client says, “I told you to do my monthly bookkeeping and to file my property tax returns,” but you have no recollection of being asked to perform the latter, you need an engagement letter that specifies monthly bookkeeping (and nothing else).

Q: Should I say–in a bookkeeping engagement letter–the service is not designed to prevent fraud?

A: We should obtain a signed engagement letter for bookkeeping services, even though not required by standards. And yes, by all means, include a statement that the bookkeeping service is not designed to detect or prevent fraud.

Q: If I note fraud while performing a bookkeeping, preparation, compilation, or review engagement, should I report it to the appropriate levels of management?

A: Standards require this communication for review engagements. I would do likewise for the other services.

Q: Am I required to be independent if I perform bookkeeping and preparation services?

A: No, since both are nonattest services.

Q: If I create financial statements as a byproduct of an 1120 tax return, am I subject to AR-C 70 Preparation of Financial Statements?

A: No, you are only subject to AR-C 70 if you are engaged to prepare financial statements.

Q: If I perform bookkeeping services in a cloud-based accounting package such as QuickBooks, am I subject to AR-C 70?

A: It depends. Yes, if you are engaged to prepare financial statements. No, if you were not engaged to prepare financial statements. Who “pushes the button” to print the financial statements has no bearing on the applicability of AR-C 70.

Q: Am I required to have a signed engagement letter for all preparation, compilation and review engagements?

A: Yes.

Q: Can I act as a controller-for-hire and perform a compilation engagement?

A: Yes, but you need to state that you are not independent in the compilation report.

Q: Can I act as the controller-for-hire and perform a review engagement?

A: No. Independence is required for review engagements.

Q: If I prepare financial statements and perform a compilation, am I performing one service or are these considered two separate services?

A: They are two separate services. The preparation is a nonattest service, and the compilation is an attest engagement. Both can be specified in one engagement letter.

Here’s a video explaining the differences in preparation and compilation services.

Are You Using Slack for CPA Project Communications?

By Charles Hall | Technology

Do you ever find yourself digging through hundreds of emails to find one message? You know it’s there somewhere, but you can’t put your electronic finger on it. Use Slack to communicate by project–that way, you’ll have all messages (by project, e.g., individual audit engagement) in one place.

What is Slack?

Slack is software designed to allow project teams–e.g., audit team–to send and store messages. Why use Slack rather than traditional email? Messages are stored by channel (by project), making it much easier to see project conversations.

The Slack website says the following:

Most conversations in Slack are organized into public channels which anyone on your team can join. You can also send messages privately, but the true power of Slack comes from having conversations everyone on the team can see. This transparency means it’s quick to find out what’s going on all across the team, and when someone new joins, all the information they need is laid out, ready for them to read up on.

How CPAs Use Slack

How can you as a CPA or auditor use Slack?

Create a channel for each project, and ask all team members to communicate using Slack (rather than email).

In CPA firms, some activities are year-round such as quality control reviews (we perform several hundred a year). Other activities are a true project, such as an audit engagement. Either way, you can use a separate (Slack) channel to communicate and store all related messages.

Using Slack for Quality Control Reviews — An Example

Below you see an example of how Heather, my associate, and I use Slack to communicate about file reviews in our quality control department. By doing so, we can see who is doing what and when. Also, all of the messages are searchable by channel. So, suppose I’m wondering when we reviewed the ABC Bank engagement. I can search the CPR (cold partner review) channel to see who performed the review and when. Notice, in this channel, Heather and I are posting status comments. We do so for the following reasons:

• To create a history of each review
• To notify each other that the review has commenced (Slack automatically sends a notification message to those included in a channel)

To select our quality control channel, I click the CPR channel on the left (where all the channels appear). Once I click CPR, I see the most recent messages for this channel.

 

Audits – Another Example

Think about a typical audit. You have three to five team members, with some individuals coming and going. To maintain continuity, you need a message board that allows all audit team members to see what is going on. That’s what Slack does when you create a channel for a particular audit. Think of it as a message board in the cloud since the designated personnel can see the audit communications with their PC, iPad, or cell phone.

Other Advantages of Slack

Advantages of Slack include the following:

• Accessibility from all devices, including cell phones and tablets
• Shareability of documents such as PDFs and spreadsheets
• Integration with other apps such as Trello and Google Calendar
• Configurable notifications of messages to team members
• Private messaging (when needed)
• Basic plan is free

Give It a Try

The best way to see how Slack works is to try it yourself. You don’t need any training since it’s easy to use. To see more information about Slack, click here.

An Auditor’s Cell Phone

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing , Technology

A cell phone is an auditor’s Swiss knife. And with all the options, I am continually looking for another way to use mine. So I’m sharing my ideas with the hope that you will likewise share yours. While I use an iPhone, I realize there are plenty of other nifty cell phones; my comments below are directed not at a particular phone but how I use mine as an auditor.

Below you will see a screenshot of my cell phone home screen and information concerning how I use various apps.

 

Camera

I use this iPhone app to capture pictures of documents as I perform internal control walkthroughs. I embed these pictures in my walkthrough documentation. A picture says a thousand words. If the person explaining the accounting system creates pictures on a whiteboard, I take photos of the drawings.

Sometimes I need a copy of a page from a hardback book (e.g., research); rather than using the copy machine, I take a picture of the page and email it.

Keynote

Keynote is Apple’s version of Powerpoint. I build the Keynote slide deck for presentations and use my phone to present. If you use iCloud, the slide deck you create on your iPad will automatically appear on your iPhone (if your settings are right).

You can also present a Keynote slide deck using your iPad as the presentation device and your iPhone as a remote. Your iPhone moves the slides of the iPad slide deck as you stand at a distance. Both devices (iPad and iPhone) must be on the same wifi for the remote feature to work.

Kindle

I buy most of my books using the one-click option in Amazon. Most books are 50% less in price (or more) than physical books. You can highlight books you read and then create a summary of those highlights (which I then place in my searchable Evernote account–see below); you can copy and paste these highlights to Word or other software.

If I am waiting on a plane, taxi, a friend, a doctor, etc., I have all my books handy for reading. You can even purchase my fraud prevention or SSARS 21 books (shameless advertising, yes I’m guilty).

Evernote

I love Evernote! It is my cloud storage, and at $70 per year for the premium version, it provides me with tremendous power. All the research I have performed and stored is available everywhere I go. All the articles I have saved are at my fingertips. (And it is so easy to store information in this application.) At present, I have thousands of screenshots, websites, articles, presentations, conversations, books, pictures, and answered research issues. It’s my knowledge library.

You can use this app to record conversations that are automatically loaded into Evernote.

Dropbox

I also use Dropbox to store some documents. Most apps connect well with Dropbox, and it handles large video or audio files well.

1Password

I save all my passwords in 1Password. No more wondering how I’m going to get into my computer with a password I’ve forgotten–again (I know this never happens to you).

Messages

I text my audit team members to see how things are going. Messaging is much more efficient than calling if the communication is short. (You can also take a picture of anything with Camera and message the picture. If your audit team member needs to see something on your computer screen, take a picture of it and message the shot to them with comments.)

Don’t want to type the message? Just say it out loud, and the app will record your words for sending.

Maps

I use Google maps to get to new audit locations.

Weather

I use the Weather Channel’s app to check the weather before I leave for trips so I can dress appropriately.

Pandora

Mozart or U2 makes my audit day go by much better. If you prefer music without ads, you can pay Pandora for the service. 

Sharefile

Sharefile is my go-to app for sending sensitive client data. With hackers everywhere, I don’t risk sending sensitive client data in emails.

Fantastical

My Fantastical calendar app syncs with my Outlook calendar, so regardless of where I am, I can check my appointments and schedule the same. I can also add reminders in Fantastical, so I don’t forget the milk.

ToDoist

Do I keep a to-do list? Yes, in my ToDoist app. This app integrates with Outlook.

Audible

When I am driving, I listen to books using Audible. If you’re on the road a lot, this is a great way to redeem your time.

WSJ

I read the Wall Street Journal to keep abreast of current events. This WSJ app provides me access to one of the best newspapers in America (and there aren’t many these days).

Siri

While not an app, I push the button on my iPhone and Siri asks me what I want to do. This is how I make phone calls by simply saying, “call my wife,” for example. I also send texts (or emails) the same way by saying “send a text to C.S. Lewis”; then I tell Siri what I want to say–works amazingly well; she even understands my southern accent (and that, my friends, is truly amazing).

What About You?

How do you use your cell phone at work? I would love to hear from you.

Reviewing Workpapers, Keeping Friends

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

Do you review workpapers? If yes, you’ll relate to the following story. 

Bill calls Janet saying, “You can review the workpapers. We’re two days past the deadline, so we need to turn this one around today. Sorry for the late notice.”

Janet feels her blood pressure rise. She taps her fingers on the desk. Her response: “I have three other audits queued up for review. Which partners do you want me to disappoint?”

The conversation goes silent. Tension fills the air. Still more silence.

“I’ll see what I can do, but please give me more notice. This is the third time this has happened.”

Janet begins reviewing the workpapers.

She starts with the engagement letter, but it’s nowhere to be found. She makes a review note. The risk assessment documentation looks good. She thinks to herself, “The walkthroughs have improved, analytics are better, and the planning document has a nice summary of risks and responses.”

She reviews the financial statements, seeing only one deficiency. The fair value note needs improvement.

She calls Bill to advise him of the disclosure change. He hears her words, still laced with tension. A pang of guilt washes over him. He wishes he would have completed this job sooner.

As Janet completes Bill’s review, she receives two phone calls concerning the other queued jobs. The caller says, “When will you be done? What’s taking so long?” I am well acquainted with her frustration. I feel her pain.

What can Bill do to make Janet’s life better?

How Bill Can Win Friends and Influence People

Bill needs to provide Janet with adequate time to review workpapers. Granted, timeliness can’t always happen. But give as much advance notice as possible. Bill knows the job is running late. Calling Janet two days earlier would have been a big help.

Bill should also let Janet know that certain documents–such as the engagement letter–are not in the file and why.

Bill may need some assistance in project management. If this is the third time, maybe Bill needs to take some continuing education regarding efficiency and organization.

What can Janet do to make everyone’s life better?

How Janet Can Win Friends and Influence People

Let’s face it. The pressure in public accounting is unrelenting, so finding the better angels of our nature can be challenging. But this we know: Janet will foster greater cooperation with patience. Friction is not your friend.

Few people enjoy having their work reviewed, so critique kindly. We need to be clear regarding suggested corrections, but more than anything, we need to be respectful.

While I understand Janet’s “this is the third time” comment. But for now, these words need to be avoided. Should Janet address the problem with Bill? Yes, but save the conversation for another day when tensions are not so high.

Where possible, emphasize improvements. Janet noticed the risk assessment documentation was better. Including this positive review note goes a long way in winning friends and influencing people.

Workpaper Review Policy

The firm needs a policy that clearly defines the review process. Generally, work should be reviewed on a first-in, first-out basis. There will be exceptions; but if people–like Bill–repeatedly turn work in late, the managing partner may need to provide direction. If there are multiple “Bills,” Janet’s review role can become overwhelming.

Here are some suggested guidelines firms can use:

• Engagements will be reviewed on a first-in, first-out basis
• Review comments will be in writing
• Feedback will be respectful
• File reviews must be timely (if the reviewer waits a week to complete a review, the audit team may not be available for clearing the comments)
• Reviewers will accumulate summaries of findings on a firm-wide basis (then the firm can develop continuing education classes to remediate issues noted)
• Reviewers will have sufficient industry knowledge (for the engagements reviewed)

Action to be Taken

If your firm doesn’t already have written review guidelines, consider developing those. Much confusion can be avoided by having a protocol. That way, everyone knows the drill.

If you do have written review guidelines, consider reviewing them for improvement.