【正确答案】Briefing notes To: Jack Hackett, audit partner From: Audit manager Regarding: Audit planning of Ted Co Introduction These briefing notes are prepared for the use of the audit team in planning the audit of Ted Co, our firm’s new audit client which develops and publishes computer games. The briefing notes discuss the planning matters in respect of this being an initial audit engagement; evaluate the audit risks to be considered in planning the audit; and recommend audit procedures in respect of short-term investments and the earnings per share figure disclosed in the draft financial statements. (a)In an initial audit engagement there are several factors which should be considered in addition to the planning procedures which are carried out for every audit. ISA 300 Planning an Audit of Financial Statements provides guidance in this area. ISA 300 suggests that unless prohibited by laws or regulation, arrangements should be made with the predecessor auditor,for example, to review their working papers. Therefore communication should be made with Crilly & Co to request access to their working papers for the financial year ended 31 May 2014. The review of the previous year’s working papers would help Craggy & Co in planning the audit, for example, it may highlight matters pertinent to the audit of opening balances or an assessment of the appropriateness of Ted Co’s accounting policies. It will also be important to consider whether any previous years’ audit reports were modified, and if so, the reason for the modification. As part of the client acceptance process, professional clearance should have been sought from Crilly & Co. Any matters which were brought to our firm’s attention when professional clearance was obtained should be considered for their potential impact on the audit strategy. There should also be consideration of the matters which were discussed with Ted Co’s management in connection with the appointment of Craggy & Co as auditors. For example, there may have been discussion of significant accounting policies which may impact on the planned audit strategy. Particular care should be taken in planning the audit procedures necessary to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding opening balances, and procedures should be planned in accordance with ISA 510 Initial Audit Engagements – Opening Balances. For example, procedures should be performed to determine whether the opening balances reflect the application of appropriate accounting policies and determining whether the prior period’s closing balances have been correctly brought forward into the current period. With an initial audit engagement it is particularly important to develop an understanding of the business, including the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the company. This understanding must be fully documented and will help the audit team to perform effective analytical review procedures and to develop an appropriate audit strategy. Obtaining knowledge of the business will also help to identify whether it will be necessary to plan for the use of auditors’ experts. Craggy & Co may have quality control procedures in place for use in the case of initial engagements, for example, the involvement of another partner or senior individual to review the overall audit strategy prior to commencing significant audit procedures. Compliance with any such procedures should be fully documented. Given that this is a new audit client, that it is newly listed, and because of other risk factors to be discussed in the next part of these briefing notes, when developing the audit strategy consideration should be given to using an experienced audit team in order to reduce detection risk. (b)Management bias The first audit risk identified relates to Ted Co becoming a listed entity during the year. This creates an inherent risk at the financial statement level and is caused by the potential for management bias. Management will want to show good results to the new shareholders of the company, in particular the institutional shareholders, and therefore there is an incentive for the overstatement of revenue and profit. The analytical review shows a significant increase in profit before tax of 48·1%,indicating potential overstatement. There is a related risk of overstatement due to Dougal Doyle and his family members retaining a 30% equity interest in Ted Co, which is an incentive for inflated profit so that a high level of dividend can be paid. It appears that governance structures are not strong, for example, there are too few non-executive directors, and therefore Dougal Doyle is in a position to be able to dominate the board and to influence the preparation of the financial statements.This increases the risk of material misstatement due to management bias. There is also a risk that management lacks knowledge of the reporting requirements specific to listed entities, for example, in relation to the calculation and disclosure of earnings per share which is discussed later in these briefing notes. E-commerce With 25% of revenue generated through the company’s website, this represents a significant revenue stream, and the income generated through e-commerce is material to the financial statements. E-commerce gives rise to a number of different audit risks, including but not limited to the following. For the auditor, e-commerce can give rise to detection risk, largely due to the paperless nature of the transactions and the fact there is likely to be a limited audit trail, making it difficult to obtain audit evidence. For the same reason, control risk is increased, as it can be hard to maintain robust controls unless they are embedded into the software which records the transaction. The auditor may find it difficult to perform tests on the controls of the system unless audit software is used, as there will be few manual controls to evaluate. A risk also arises in terms of the recognition of sales revenue, in particular cut-off can be a problem where sales are made online as it can be difficult to determine the exact point at which the revenue recognition criteria of IAS 18 Revenue have been met. Hence, over or understatement of revenue is a potential risk to be considered when planning the audit. Ted Co also faces risks relating to the security of the system, for example, risks relating to unauthorised access to the system,and there is an increased risk of fraud. All of these risks mean that there is high audit risk in relation to the revenue generated from the company’s website. Licence income The licence income which is deferred in the statement of financial position represents 13·4% of total assets and is therefore material. There is a risk that the accounting treatment is not appropriate, and there are two separate risks which need to be considered.First, it may be the case that the revenue from the sale of a licence should not be deferred at all. The revenue recognition criteria of IAS 18 need to be applied to the transaction, and if, for example, it were found that Ted Co has no ntinuing management involvement and that all risk and reward had been transferred to the buyer, then the revenue should be recognised immediately and not deferred. This would mean a significant understatement of revenue and profit. Second, if it is appropriate that the revenue is deferred, for example, if Ted Co does retain managerial involvement and has retained the risk and reward in relation to the licence arrangement, then the period over which the revenue is recognised could be inappropriate, resulting in over or understated revenue in the accounting period. Foreign exchange transactions Ted Co’s products sell in over 60 countries and the products are manufactured overseas, so the company is involved with foreign currency transactions which can be complex in nature. There is a risk that the requirements of IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates have not been followed. For example, if transactions have not been retranslated to Ted Co’s functional currency at the date of the transaction, then the amounts involved may be over or understated. There is also a risk that outstanding receivables and payables have not been retranslated at the year-end closing exchange rate, leading to over or understatement of assets and liabilities and unrecorded exchange gains or losses. The treasury management function is involved with forward exchange contracts, meaning that derivatives exist and should be accounted for in accordance with IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. This is a complex accounting issue, and there are numerous audit risks arising. There is a risk that not all forward exchange contracts are identified, leading to incomplete recording of the balances involved. There is also a risk in determining the fair value of the derivative at the year end, as this can be judgemental and requires specialist knowledge. There is also a risk that hedge accounting rules have not been properly applied, or that inadequate disclosure of relevant risks is made in the notes to the financial statements. Portfolio of equity share The cost of the portfolio of investments represents 6% of total assets and is material to the statement of financial position.The fall in value of the portfolio of $2 million represents 25% of profit before tax, and is therefore material to the statement of profit or loss. The investment portfolio is recognised at cost, but this is not the correct measurement basis. The investments should be accounted for in accordance with IFRS 9 which requires financial assets to be classified and then measured subsequent to initial recognition at either amortised cost or at fair value through profit or loss. Speculative investments in equity shares should be measured at fair value through profit or loss because the assets are not being held to collect contractual cash flows.It seems that the current accounting treatment is incorrect in that assets are overstated, and it is significant that the draft profit for the year is overstated by $2 million. Further, there is a new team dealing with these complex treasury management transactions involving financial instruments.There may be a lack of knowledge and experience which adds to the risks outlined above in relation to the foreign exchange transactions, derivatives and portfolio of equity shares. Earnings per share Ted Co must calculate and disclose its earnings per share figure (EPS) in accordance with IAS 33 Earnings per Share. It appears that the calculation has not been performed in accordance with the requirements of the standard and is incorrect.IAS 33 requires EPS to be calculated based on the profit or loss for the year attributable to ordinary shareholders as presented in the statement of profit or loss, but in the draft financial statements it has been calculated based on an adjusted profit figure.This is not in accordance with IAS 33, which only allows EPS based on an alternative profit figure to be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements as an additional figure, and should not be disclosed on the face of the financial statements. The earnings figure used as the basis of the calculation should also not be based on profit before tax but on the post-tax profit. In addition, it appears that the denominator used in the EPS calculation is incorrect. It should be based on the weighted average number of shares which were in issue during the financial year, but the calculation shows that it is based on the number of shares in issue at the year end. Due to the share issue in December 2014, the weighted average will need to be determined and used in the alculation. There is a risk relating to inadequate disclosure, for example, a diluted EPS needs to be presented, as does a comparative for the previous year. The incorrect calculation and disclosure of EPS is a significant issue, especially given the company becoming listed during the year, which will focus the attention of investors on the EPS this year. Rapid growth The analytical review which has been performed indicates rapid growth has occurred during the year. Revenue has increased by 46·3%, and profit before tax by 48·1%. The growth in the number of transactions could indicate a control risk, in that systems and personnel may struggle to keep pace with the volume of transactions which are being processed, leading to accounting errors being made. This is exacerbated by the lack of an internal audit department to provide assurance on systems and controls. Profit margins The trend in gross profit and operating profit margins could indicate a misstatement. The ratios are as follows: