With the AICPA's heightened focus on enhancing audit quality, increased oversight of the peer review process and the auditor's overall responsibility to provide high quality services, the focus on compliance with professional standards has never been greater. Recent peer reviews have indicated that auditors are often failing to perform and/or document certain critical components of...

Cash and cash equivalents tend to be one of the first areas assigned to new auditors since it tends to be straightforward with less complexity and risk as other areas. In addition, there is little subjectivity involved and persuasive audit evidence from a third-party is generally available. Interestingly enough, this is an area that can...

The focus of this course is reducing the overall risk of fraud. To that end, instruction will cover the factors that play a role in turning honest employees into fraudsters. Discussion will touch on integrity and ethics, as well as how the reactions of people in certain situations may impact the prevalence of fraud.

As a byproduct of the audit, the auditor has a responsibility to communicate certain information to management and those charged with governance, primarily related to risk and internal control deficiencies. In some cases the auditor may be required to report outside the entity, for example, when fraud is identified. Some of these communications to management...

One of the most favored employee benefit plans, the 401(k) plan, provides unique challenges for auditors.Through this course, auditors will obtain an understanding of the rules and regulations unique to employee benefit plans and obtain practical guidance on applying them. Auditors will enhance their knowledge of the performance and reporting requirements through real-world examples, best...

Financial statement auditors are engaged to provide reasonable assurance that financial statements are not materially misstated, whether due to fraud or error. Professional standards require auditors to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to support that opinion. It is critical for effective and efficient auditors to have a clear understanding of all the important elements and...

Quality should be the primary focus of all engagements. Since initiating its Enhancing Engagement Quality initiative in 2014, the AICPA has been using its peer review program as a way to assess the improvement in engagement quality.In this course, we'll review the latest results from the peer review program and identify common findings in recent...

Analytical review procedures are performed in the preliminary and final stages of the audit. Auditors may also choose to perform analytical procedures as substantive tests. It is important to properly design and perform the procedures to ensure an effective and efficient audit engagement. This module will provide detailed guidance and methods for performing these techniques....

Fraud is all around us, though many times we miss it. As accountants, we have a professional responsibility to detect material fraud. However, our ability to detect fraud is directly related to our understanding of how fraud occurs, how prevalent it is and what types of procedures allow both accountants and companies to detect fraud...