The Importance of Audit Workpapers

What are Audit Working Papers?

While conducting an audit, any documents which include details about accounts under audit are considered working papers. A good auditing team will keep careful records of all written and private materials that were prepared during an audit. They describe in detail all accounting information obtained from a client, the methods used during the audit, and all relevant conclusions and statements.

The audit working papers are of vital importance across all types of audits, whether statutory, internal, or management related.

The Importance of Quality Audit Working Papers

Audit working papers play a very important role in audits. They provide detailed information about the audit and can be useful as evidence. Here are some reasons why they are indispensable to the process:

The findings summarised in a report can be thoroughly confirmed using the various details and findings of the audit working papers.
Working papers record the amount of work performed by an auditing team.
In case differences of opinion arise, working papers can be a valuable source of evidence for the auditor.
They allow auditing clerks to remain well coordinated and organised.
Working papers allow auditors to effectively advise clients regarding improvements in internal systems and accounting practices.
They can be used as guides for assignments of a similar nature.
Working papers can act as an excellent training tool for other audit clerks within the firm.

Essentials of Good Working Papers

Some accounting firms are specific about how working papers should be written. Here are some tips on how best to fill in your working papers:

It is important to ensure that working papers are filled in completely. The more information they provide, the better they are as records. Facts provided in the papers should be easy for the reader to understand. In particular, only relevant information should be included to maintain the utility of these documents.

Audit working paper files need to remain accessible to auditors. They should be filed, serially numbered and indexed accurately. Using quality paper of uniform size goes a long way in ensuring that these documents can be stored for long periods of time. Remember to leave space after each note so that decisions and follow ups can be included later.

To improve, efficiency, cross-referencing your workpapers with similar and supporting workpapers is important to avoid duplication of work.

Consistent citation is a very important aspect of the papers. Special attention should be paid to mention every document that was examined. Every interview undertaken to gain evidence must be carefully documented.

The Importance of Diligence in Auditing

At Brown Assurance Services, we work with a range of businesses with varied internal processes and administrative cultures. Information, documents, records are presented in a variety of ways. We take great pride in our team of experienced professionals who excel at getting to know you and your business. This allows them to work hands on and organise all the information required into well-crafted work papers which become the basis of a quality audit.