Auditing of Charities

Auditing of Charities

by | Apr 7, 2019 | News

Charity audits are high risk, as has been shown in the recent news story about the disciplinary action against the auditors to the former charity Console.

Auditors have always been expected to have relevant knowledge corresponding to the task in hand and it’s important to have a clear understanding of the key risks involved in auditing a charity, especially because various donor agencies such as the HSE, Tusla and Pobal, to name just a few, have high expectations of what auditors can deliver.

One of the criticisms in the 2017 CRA report on Ataxia Ireland was that it ‘did not set formal objectives for the CEO and/or perform a documented appraisal of the CEO’s performance.

One of the webinars on our site helps auditors to gather their thoughts and plan an effective audit, pinpointing the likely areas of risk including:

  • Cut-off
  • Fraud
  • Failure to report related party transactions
  • Incomplete income due to failure to invoice for services rendered or records invoice issued
  • Non-receipt of income due from funder
  • Misapplication of restricted funds

 

For the answer to this and other questions on the Audit of Charities, go to our website and download the webinar on this topic for just €45. On successful completion, receive a CPD certificate for your newly acquired knowledge. Well done!

There is an accompanying webinar on the Accounting for Charities – also for €45, or you may purchase the two at the same time for €80.

All our webinars are accessible at any time (for 12 months from date of purchase) here.

For the following ready to use charity engagement letters (in Word) available to purchase online (bulk discounts for purchases of 5 or more at the same time) please click on the relevant links:

Preparing for an Audit Quality Review Visit

by | Mar 29, 2019 | Blog, News

As estate agents will tell you, the three most important things to do with selling your property are ‘location, location, location.’ Well, the same applies to preparing for a Quality Review visit from your professional body. The three P’s to a successful Quality Review visit are Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

The main problem area that underpins most issues that arise in audit files is lack of written evidence, collected on an audit assignment, that is sufficient and appropriate to allow the auditor to give an audit opinion that the financial statements are true and fair.

Part of the preparation will include keeping up to date with the audit regulations, independence rules on issues like ‘long association’ and fee dependency, audit and accounting standards currently in issue and being aware of the technical arguments that may arise. To test your knowledge on one of these technical points in particular, try this question:

‘Now that Practice Note 16 (Bank Reports for Audit Purposes) has been withdrawn by the Financial Reporting Council, auditors don’t need to waste time chasing bank enquiry responses any more. True or False?’

For the answer to this and other questions on Preparing for an Audit Quality Review Visit, go to our website and download the 41-minute-long webinar, on this topic. Receive a CPD certificate for your newly gained knowledge, on successful completion.

All our webinars are accessible at any time (for 12 months from date of purchase) here.