Audit working papers are the documents which record during the course of

audit evidence Audit evidence is evidence obtained by auditors during a financial audit A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" (the information is verified to the extent of reasonable assurance granted) are state ...

obtained during

financial statements Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

, internal management auditing, information systems auditing, and investigations. Audit working papers are used to support the audit work done in order to provide the assurance that the audit was performed in accordance with the relevant auditing standards. They show the audit was: *Properly planned; *Carried out properly *There was adequate supervision; *That the appropriate review was undertaken; and *That the evidence is sufficient and appropriate to support the audit opinion The Institute of Internal Auditors, a global professional audit standards body, has issued practice advisory 2330-1 stating the goals of audit working papers are to: *Document the planning, performance, and review of audit work; *Provide the principal support for audit communication such as observations, conclusions, and the final report; *Facilitate third-party reviews and re-performance requirements; and *Provide a basis for evaluating the internal audit activity's quality control program. The audit working paper are divided into two parts: The first group consists of the current file and second group contains the permanent file. # The material relating to the current year only is placed in current file # The data to be used for a number of years placed in permanent file. The auditor can rely on the facts and figures recorded in permanent files. Audit working papers are the

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

of the

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

. In order to keep professional ethic, it cannot reveal to third parties without client consent unless limited specified situations mentioned in ISA 230 Documentation and required by

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, the examples are

court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying o ...

, for

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

and so on. The forms of documentation may be

flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of v ...

, manual, narrative note,

checklist A checklist is a type of job aid used in repetitive tasks to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. Checklists are used both to ensure that safety-critical system preparations are carried out completely ...

, or

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

Proper features or purpose

Features of Audit documentation are defined by related audit standards ie. IFRS, USGAAP. Following features might be considered as minimum: * Reviewed by auditors with supervisors noted. * Signed, dated and approved by relevant level of audit staff with sufficient cross reference. * With evidence of effective audit planning, work done, sufficient and quality evidence. * Outstanding matters are cleared in due course.

References

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