Auditing and Assurance Standards and Guidance

Auditing Standards (Ireland)

FRC ISAs (UK and Ireland) applicable for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2010 but before 17 June 2016

ISA (UK and Ireland) 200 Overall objectives of the independent auditor and the conduct of an audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland)

Application and Other Explanatory Material

Sufficient Appropriate Audit Evidence and Audit Risk (Ref: Para. 5 and 17 )

Inherent Limitations of an Audit

The Nature of Audit Procedures

A47.	There are practical and legal limitations on the auditor's ability to obtain audit evidence. For example:

There is the possibility that management or others may not provide, intentionally or unintentionally, the complete information that is relevant to the preparation of the financial statements or that has been requested by the auditor. Accordingly, the auditor cannot be certain of the completeness of information, even though the auditor has performed audit procedures to obtain assurance that all relevant information has been obtained.

Fraud may involve sophisticated and carefully organized schemes designed to conceal it. Therefore, audit procedures used to gather audit evidence may be ineffective for detecting an intentional misstatement that involves, for example, collusion to falsify documentation which may cause the auditor to believe that audit evidence is valid when it is not. The auditor is neither trained as nor expected to be an expert in the authentication of documents.

An audit is not an official investigation into alleged wrongdoing. Accordingly, the auditor is not given specific legal powers, such as the power of search, which may be necessary for such an investigation.

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