Question

What is the difference between a statistical representative test and a non-statistical representative test?

Answer 1

A statistical representative test provides a predictable (usually an equal or proportionate to size) probability of selection for each population unit x this is the assumption on which all the statistical formulas are based. In turn this allows an objective measure of the sampling risk associated with the test. This is not possible with a non-statistical representative test. The auditor may think the result is representative in his or her professional judgment but if the auditor had to provide reasons in the audit working papers they may be considered less convincing (e.g., less scientific) than the more formalized statistical sampling theory. This is especially true if auditors in the future will be held more accountable for their judgments, as is indicated by recent trends in CPAB and PCAOB reports. This is why debiasing training may become more important in non-statistical representative sampling in future: such training provides another good reason for accepting auditor judgments on non-statistical representative selection of items.