How to Get a Better Return on Financial Statement Audits - Avoiding the Most Misapplied Risk-Based Audit Concepts

By far, the biggest contributing factor that leads to a profitable, yet high quality, financial statement audit is the proper identification, evaluation, and response to assessed risk of material misstatement. When designing your detailed audit plan, how and where you decide to spend your time is largely a matter of professional judgment. The proven tips and techniques for critically rethinking how you plan and design your audit taught in this course will help auditors enhance audit quality and manage profitability in all engagements.

Learning Objectives

Recognize how the nature, timing, and extent of planned audit procedures can (and should) vary commensurate with assessed risk of material misstatement
Recall how workpaper review is a critical tool for promoting audit effectiveness and efficiency
List tips for strengthening the design, documentation and evaluation of substantive analytic procedures
Explain the impact that strong client and engagement management can have on improving profitability

Major Topics

Properly assessing inherent, control, and fraud risk on an engagement, and linking the results to an appropriately tailored detailed audit plan based on risk assessment and client service goals, regardless of entity type (for-profit, nonprofit, governmental)
Leveraging strong substantive analytic procedures as audit evidence to cut back on tests of details
The most common efficiency opportunities for tailoring your audit approach based on risk
How to use the workpaper review process as a tool for producing a more effective and efficient engagement
Using audit documentation to enhance audit quality, while ensuring every workpaper has a purpose
How to use the client to your advantage in planning and performing the audit
Learn how to get the engagement out the door – on time and on budget!

CPE Credits Available

8 CPE

8: Accounting&Auditing

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

Intermediate

Prerequisites

None

Advanced Preparation

Experience in basic audits

Intended Audience

Any financial statement auditor who wishes to learn how to be more effective and efficient on engagements

April 2, 2026