You are a manager at 531 Audit firm and you

You are a manager at 531 Audit firm and you are planning the audit work for Frodo Ltd for the year end 31 December 2021. Frodo has been a client of 531 Audit for the last five years and based on the previous audit results, internal control adjustments have been suggested every year, which were subsequently implemented.

You and your team have collected different information on the company for planning the audit work. Frodo is a manufacturer of sports equipment, operating in the European market, whose reputation is based on the high quality of the technology and materials used for its products.

The company appointed a new CEO in 2021, who has a reputation to be difficult to work with and for this reason two of the non-executive directors, that were part of the Audit Committee, have left the company. The company is seeking to increase its profitability. Starting with the executive team, the performance pressures trickled downward, with increased pressure on the sales department for meeting the sales targets. The new strategic objective has been supported by a change in the purchases and less expensive and low-quality materials are now used in its sports equipment. The main reason behind this change in terms of strategy is related to the new company expansion in East Asia. This new strategy requires expertise for the analysis of contractual agreements and its implication for accounting for foreign currency. The accounting department have a good level of the expertise required in this area.

Jon Pippin, an auditor working for 531 Audit, has long-term experience in East Asia business regulations. However, the audit manager has decided that the documentation presented by Frodo’s management on the accounting for foreign currency was extensive, and that adding another member to the team would have increased time and cost for the audit, so Jon was not included in the team.

Your audit team has collected the following information on some additional aspects of how the company works.

During their work on the sales and collection cycle, the team found out that prenumbered shipping documents are required by the company to be issued for each sale. The shipping clerk writes the date on the shipping document whenever there is a shipment or pickup. The final shipment made in the fiscal year ending December 2021, was recorded on document 5572. Shipments are billed in the order the billing clerk receives the shipping documents. The following information was collected:

During the audit of the financial statements, the CEO has not granted access to inspect the minutes of board of directors’ meetings. Frodo’s secretary instead offers to give the auditor a certified copy of all resolutions and actions involving accounting matters.

Reviewing all the information collected, the audit team is ready to make a suggestion regarding the opinion to issue in the audit report.

Question 1

1. a) Assess the audit risk for Frodo and advise on the evidence mix related with the tests of control, substantive tests of transactions, analytical procedures, and tests of details of balances. Justify whether extensive amount (E), medium amount (M), small amount of testing (S), or no testing (N) is expected.

b) Identify the accounts which might be affected by the increased pressure on profitability, and the audit procedure that you would perform to determine whether a misstatement or a manipulation could be present. Explain your answer.

c) Use the analytical procedures you deem useful for the analysis, and evaluate fluctuations in the account balances or ratios that you believe indicate the potential for misstatements.