Briefly describe the key requirement included in professional auditing standards regarding the preparation and retention of audit workpapers.?

Answer 1

Professional auditing standards define the core value of accounting ethics. Working paper also define the skills of an auditor. Hence the basic requirement in auditing standards at the very behest of accounting profession sticks to the basic concepts of accounting ethics. However, in the current scenario where the cases of financial fiasco have increased, government defined auditing standards take centre stage and differs from one nation to the other.

But once again when it matter pertaining to the reparation of and retention of audit work paper, the requirement prepare by auditor should be in a manner that it helps the auditors to carry out auditing services in the most appropriate way. That is to say, auditor should do away with inappropriate representation while preparing audit report. Hence the working paper requirement at most should avoid accumulating unnecessary working papers for the sake of client and for the requirement of professional auditing standards.

Moreover, when it matter to the ownership of audit work paper and as it is with the general principles, audit paper is the property of the auditor concerned in all circumstances. Given the case attached to working paper as an evidence of the audit process that are usually obtained during financial assessment also withhold that audit paper are likely to remain with auditors and audit firms. And to profess the ethics attached to accounting profession, again audit papers sole ownership lays with the auditors. However, the auditor and the audit paper are also subject to some compliance. That is to say, auditor who owns the working paper cannot disclose the same to third party in any circumstances. Hence, in the first instance audit firm own audit papers, but are not likely to disclose the same to third party, which means that as per the principle audit client also gain some form of ownership and any misuse of the audit paper can intimidate legal discourse from the client part.