Monash University Handbook 2010 Undergraduate - Unit

Synopsis

The application of South African Companies Act and other legal requirements on the audit profession and the external auditor is dealt with extensively in this unit. The external auditor and corporate governance are also dealt with. One specific area of the audit is dealt with again: audit risk, and this is also considered for the audit of groups of companies. A big part of the semester is spent on computer auditing, the controls and control environment, as well as computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs).

Objectives

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

1. explain the requirements and sections of the Companies Act and the Auditing Professions Act on the external auditor's professional activities and the audit of companies, and to identify violations of the laws and to make relevant recommendations
2. identify and explain the application of the requirements and sections of the Close Corporations Act on the professional accountant
3. describe the best practice in corporate governance and how it is applied in the business world, and to assess simulated practical situations and make relevant recommendations
4. assess audit risk and apply it on various simulated practical situations/in various audits
5. identify and examine computer controls in the context of external auditing, and to plan and apply that knowledge in simulated practical situations and to make recommendations in that regard
6. apply CAATs in simulated practical circumstances, mostly in an external audit;
7. describe the use of automated audit working papers and
8. identify the risks specific to the auditing of groups and describe the audit procedures relevant to the audit of group companies
9. apply critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills to individual and / or group activities dealing with auditing and demonstrate in an individual summative assessment task the acquisition of a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered by AFW3770.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 30%
Examination (3 hours): 70%

Chief examiner(s)

Blanche Steyn

Contact hours

39 hours per semester

Prerequisites

AFW2760

Prohibitions

AFW2041, AFW3941, AFW3942