During Audit planning only, the audit decides about the audit technique, extent of audit required, documentation technique etc. Audit planning and documentation has a very important role to play in an auditing exercise. A good auditing planning make it possible to get the auditing exercise completed in a timely and cost effective manner. The objective of this lesson is to create understanding about audit planning, audit program, audit working papers and other audit documentation techniques.

Audit Program for Vouching

Purchases/Sales

Check the date, amount, authorization, number, etc. of the invoice with the accounting entry passed in Accounting Software.Whether Purchase Order was made for the purchase.Verify the related Sales/Purchase order.Whether Purchase Order was duly authorized by Administrative Head.Whether Material/ Equipment ordered for has been received.In case of part receipt of materials; whether amount is paid only for the received materials or for all materials ordered.Whether Rate charged & Qty received matches with the original order.Confirm the accuracy of arithmetical calculations of the invoice (Quantity*Amount).Ascertain whether the quantity mentioned is correct along-with the supporting such as Delivery challan.See that materials rejected if any have been properly accounted for.

Checking of Bank reconciliation

Confirm the bank balances along with the bank statements.Note the cheques which are outstanding for long, and also ascertain the reasons for the same i.e. Stale Cheques.List the cheques which have been issued but not recorded.Also list the cheques which have remained uncleared for more than 30 days.Obtain the copy of quarter end reconciliation statement in our audit file

Confirmation of Balances

Confirmation of balances with the banks / Lending institutions should be obtained on a monthly basis for the purpose of preparation of bank reconciliation statements.Confirmation of balances with the Creditors / Debtors should be obtained on a six  monthly basis.  The balances in the Creditors/Debtors Ledger  account should also be reconciled with the balances as per the party’s books on a  six monthly basis.

Journal Vouchers

Check authorization of Journal Vouchers by a responsible person.Check the Journal vouchers with supporting Bills / Invoices /documents.Check that supporting documents are duly approved by an appropriate authority.Check the correctness  of the accounting head – debit / credit.Check that all the relevant columns of the journal vouchers have been properly filled in.In case of contractors bills check that bills submitted by the contractors are supported by the Work Orders issued in advance to the contractors.  No bill should be passed unless supported by a/ WO and the value of the Bill should be in agreement with the WO prepared. Check that the Work Orders are prepared in advance before the start of the work.Check that the bills of the contractors are duly approved and certified for payment by the person responsible for getting the work done i.e the user. All the bills must have “Approval” for payment in writing by the user on the face of the bill.Check that all the supporting bills / invoices to a journal voucher are approved / certified for payment by the User Department.  The user Department should specifically put a remark on the bill for approval/ payment.In case of contract jobs relating to labour supply the bills are to be supported by attendance sheets duly certified by the Time Office.In case of transporters bills – check the bills with the agreed rates and receipted copies of consignment notes.Check the measurement books in case of bills for civil work and ensure that the Measurement books are signed and checked by the Engineer in charge of the Work.In case of running and final bills for civil work check that the civil engineer has checked and verified the measurements and entries of all running and final bills are made in the Measurement Books.

Also Check Relevant Parts of This article :- 

Audit Program for In-depth Scrutiny of Ledgers.Audit Program – A Detailed Audit Program

Advance to Employees

Check the Trial balance in respect of Advance to employees to ascertain the amount outstanding in the name of each employee. Find out the date since when the advance  is outstanding to be settled and make a list if employees advances that have not been settled for a long period.Ensure that no further advance is given to an employee unless the previous outstanding  advance is cleared by him.Advance to an employee may be towards  – Travel / Official work\ loan or a salary advance. Ensure that the recovery is made from the  salary of the employee when the advance taken by the employee is not settled by him within a reasonable period.Further  check that the recovery of installments in respect of loan / salary advance is made correctly on  monthly basis from the salary of the employees.Check and make a list of employees who have left the company and their full and final settlements have not been made but debit balances are still appearing in their names in the Advance to employees account.

Check the Cash/Bank transactions

Check authorization of Cash Vouchers / Bank Vouchers by a responsible person.Check supporting Bills / InvoicesCheck the correctness of the accounting head – expense / incomeCheck for cash receipts signature /acknowledgement  of cash recd.Check that all the relevant columns of the Cash/ bank vouchers have been properly filled in.Check that all the supporting  to the Vouchers are crossed as cancelled after the payment.Check that payments are made only against  original supporting.

Payroll

The amount of salary drawn by a staff is in accordance with companies policy;Appointment of the staff is as per the rules and regulations and post sanctioned;The pay drawn by a newly appointed staff is as per the appointment letter;Necessary deductions have been made in accordance with the relevant rules and ordersSalaries paid have been properly recorded in the salary registerThe payment of salary must be duly acknowledged by the payee staff only; andSalary increments are as per the rules and orders

Statutory Compliances

TDS

Verify whether the tax has been deducted at the correct rates and against the correct bill.Prepare the Delay in TDS deposit and TDS not deducted  table.Whether certificate is properly prepared and delivered to client

Profession Tax

Prepare the Month-wise Table Verify.Whether PT has been deducted correctly for all employees as per salary working

Sales Tax/VAT/Service Tax

Verify the Calculation of VAT/Service Tax Payable and prepare computation of VAT/Service Tax Liability and Payment Statement.

Check Original Payment Challan.Verify whether Tax has been paid on/before due date.Incase of delay Recommended Articles

Basic Principles and Golden Rules of AccountingWhat is an Account & Types of AccountsAccounting for investmentsWhat Is Debit Note and Credit NoteFund Flow StatementAverage Rate of Return