In: Accounting
Describe evidence requirements of auditing standards
Audit evidence refers to the relevance and reliability of the information, whether gathered from audit procedures or other sources that is used by the auditor in reaching to the conclusions on which the auditor's opinion is based. Audit evidence is inclusive of both information that corroborates and supports management's assertions in regard to the financial statements or internal control over financial reporting and information that contradicts such assertions. It is important that the auditor plan and performs audit procedures to gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence to give a reasonable basis for the opinion.
The relevance of audit evidence depends on design of the audit procedure applied to test the control or assertion, specifically the purpose for what it is designed and the timing of the audit procedure used to test the control or assertion. The reliability of evidence depends on the source and nature of the evidence and the circumstances under which it is gathered.