Auditing accounting estimates and the related disclosures (ISA 540)

Objectives

Accounting estimates, including fair value measurements, are becoming more common in financial statements. They may be assessed as a high level of risk due to their nature, lack of observable evidence and potential for management bias. An auditor shall plan effective audit procedures and apply professional scepticism, which is fundamental to auditing such areas.

ISA 540 was revised in 2019 and includes a more robust framework for assessing inherent risk within accounting estimates, as well as the emphasis on professional scepticism.

This webinar will cover the principal requirements in the revised ISA 540 for auditing accounting estimates, including fair values, and applying professional scepticism.

Key Topics

This webinar will cover the following key areas:

• Common accounting estimates and the inherent risks associated with them, including complexity, subjectivity and estimation uncertainty
• Assessment of evidence available for audit testing
• Challenging evidence and documenting your work
• Identifying accounting estimates that give risk to a significant risk and the additional audit procedures required
• Applying professional scepticism

Who Should Attend?

This webinar is aimed at all levels of staff involved in auditing financial statements.