Students

ACCG3040 – Auditing and Assurance Services

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor and Lecturer
James Hazelton
Contact via accg3040@mq.edu.au
4ER, Room 326
See Consultation Schedule on iLearn
Tutor
Fiona Foster
Contact via accg3040@mq.edu.au
N/A
See Consultation Schedule on iLearn
Tutor
Awn Muhammad
Contact via accg3040@mq.edu.au
N/A
See Consultation Schedule on iLearn
Unit Moderator
Parmod Chand
Contact via accg3040@mq.edu.au
4ER, Room 236
N/A
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including (ACCG308 or ACCG3008) and (ACCG250 or ACCG2050)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit examines the theory and practice of auditing and assurance services. The unit focuses on the external audit of corporate financial reports while also considering a broader range of financial and non-financial assurance services. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the audit process and the professional auditing environment. Students will also be exposed to ethical requirements, corporate governance and other current issues in auditing and assurance, including data analytics. The unit is applied in nature and will require students to work through learning resources and assessment tasks based on contemporary Auditing Standards and real-world auditing case studies.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explain the purpose of external and internal audit and assurance services and the various types of audit and assurance services within the Australian and international regulatory, professional and ethical frameworks and environment
  • ULO2: Analyse case-based scenarios by identifying and evaluating risk factors and their implications for audit planning and evidence gathering activities
  • ULO3: Design audit strategies, including applying quantitative methods, within the context of appropriate, sufficient, and relevant evidence, and design appropriate audit procedures (including tests of controls and substantive tests) in response to specific risks
  • ULO4: Apply professional judgement and decision making in evaluating audit evidence, the treatment of subsequent events, and in formulating audit opinions
  • ULO5: Develop knowledge and skills in data analytics and big data
  • ULO6: Demonstrate the capacity for effective collaboration with others and in communicating findings

General Assessment Information

Submission of assessment tasks

All applicable text based assessments must be submitted through Turnitin. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that work is submitted correctly prior to the due date. No hard copies of assessments will be accepted and only Turnitin records will be taken as records of submission.

Multiple submissions may be possible in some units via Turnitin prior to the final due date and time of an assessment task and originality reports may be made available to students to view and check their work. All identified matching text will be reconsidered carefully. Students should note that the system will not immediately produce the similarity score on a second or subsequent submission - it takes approximately 24 hours for the report to be generated. This may be after the due date so students should plan any resubmissions carefully. Please refer to instructions on how to submit your assignment through Turnitin and access similarity reports and feedback provided by teaching staff and available here. Should you have questions about Turnitin or experience issues submitting through the system, you must inform unit staff by emailing us at accg3040@mq.edu.au. If the issue is technical in nature may also lodge OneHelp Ticket, refer to the IT help page.

It is the responsibility of the student to retain a copy of any work submitted. Students must produce these documents upon request. Copies should be retained until the end of the grade appeal period each term. In the event that a student is asked to produce another copy of work submitted and is unable to do so, they may be awarded zero (0) for that particular assessment task.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless an application for Special Consideration has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests, exams, performance assessments, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration 

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Case Study 20% No Wednesday 26/4/23 11:55pm
Mid-session test 20% No Thursday 6/4/23 10am-12noon
Final Examination 60% No University final examination period

Case Study

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Wednesday 26/4/23 11:55pm
Weighting: 20%

Students will apply their knowledge of audit processes and procedures developed in the unit to a case study. Students will complete this assessment and submit their responses as part of a group and individually.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse case-based scenarios by identifying and evaluating risk factors and their implications for audit planning and evidence gathering activities
  • Design audit strategies, including applying quantitative methods, within the context of appropriate, sufficient, and relevant evidence, and design appropriate audit procedures (including tests of controls and substantive tests) in response to specific risks
  • Apply professional judgement and decision making in evaluating audit evidence, the treatment of subsequent events, and in formulating audit opinions
  • Develop knowledge and skills in data analytics and big data
  • Demonstrate the capacity for effective collaboration with others and in communicating findings

Mid-session test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Thursday 6/4/23 10am-12noon
Weighting: 20%

A mid-session test will be held to give students practice on a summative assessment task and to provide feedback on their progress midway through the session.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the purpose of external and internal audit and assurance services and the various types of audit and assurance services within the Australian and international regulatory, professional and ethical frameworks and environment
  • Design audit strategies, including applying quantitative methods, within the context of appropriate, sufficient, and relevant evidence, and design appropriate audit procedures (including tests of controls and substantive tests) in response to specific risks

Final Examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: University final examination period
Weighting: 60%

 

A two-hour examination will be held during the University Examination period.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the purpose of external and internal audit and assurance services and the various types of audit and assurance services within the Australian and international regulatory, professional and ethical frameworks and environment
  • Analyse case-based scenarios by identifying and evaluating risk factors and their implications for audit planning and evidence gathering activities
  • Design audit strategies, including applying quantitative methods, within the context of appropriate, sufficient, and relevant evidence, and design appropriate audit procedures (including tests of controls and substantive tests) in response to specific risks
  • Apply professional judgement and decision making in evaluating audit evidence, the treatment of subsequent events, and in formulating audit opinions

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Unit delivery and learning resources

Students are required to attend a weekly lecture and tutorial (lectures commence in Week 1, tutorials commence from Week 2). There are also online learning resources that students are required to engage with to complement the weekly lecture and tutorial.

Lectures and tutorials are interactive and are designed to facilitate further discussion of concepts covered in online learning resources and their application to practical cases.

The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/ 

Changes to student timetables may only be made through eStudent. Students wishing to change their allocated tutorial should log onto to eStudent and enrol in a tutorial where there is a vacancy. Any question of an administrative nature in relation to tutorial allocations should be addressed to accg3040@mq.edu.au. Student enrolments must be finalised by the end of Week 1. No further changes may be made after Week 1.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

The required texts for the unit, which are available from the Booktopia bookshop are as follows: 

Martinov-Bennie, N., Soh, D. and Frohbus, K. (2017) Auditing and Assurance: A Case Studies Approach, 7th Edition, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney, Australia.

Gay, G. and Simnett, R. (2018) Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia + Connect, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, Australia.

Additional required readings will also be made available on iLearn.

Students are also expected to read relevant standards and guidance which are available online at http://www.auasb.gov.au (ASAs, ASQC, ASRS, and AGS) and http//www.apesb.org.au (APES). These are also contained in the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Auditing Handbook.

The following text is recommended as a useful reference:

Moroney, R., Campbell, F. and Hamilton, J. (2020) Auditing: A practical approach, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Brisbane, Australia.

 

Technology Used and Required

Students will need access to a personal computer and the internet to review and complete online learning activities, including videos, slide decks, podcasts, additional readings, assessment details and notices from the ACCG3040 iLearn site, as well as to complete and make submissions for the assessment tasks in this Unit.

Further information on any specific technology requirements will be made available on the unit iLearn site.

The unit iLearn can be found at: http://iLearn.mq.edu.au.

You are strongly encouraged to regularly visit the website to check for important announcements and use it as a resource to enhance your learning experience.

What is required to complete this unit satisfactorily

In addition to the requirements outlined in the Unit Assessment Guide available on iLearn, students are required to achieve an overall pass for the unit to achieve a passing grade in this unit, students are expected to be independent learners who assume personal responsibility for their learning and take a pro‐active approach to addressing any deficiencies in their understanding of the course material through independent research and inquiry and consultations with peers and instructors as appropriate. A detailed learning approach is provided in the Unit Weekly Guide available on iLearn.

Unit Schedule

Wk

Topics

Week Commencing

1

Course overview 

- Introduction to auditing and assurance services

20 Feb

2

Audit Planning 1

- Client acceptance

- Understanding the business

- Audit strategy and program

- Analytical procedures

27 Feb

3

Audit Planning 2

- The audit risk model

- Key inherent risks

- Materiality

6 Mar

4

Controls assessment 

- Audit assertions

- Controls - types and assertions 

- Controls - COSO framework

- Controls - assessment

13 Mar

5

Controls testing

- Utilising others

- Controls testing - overview

- Controls testing - sales

- Controls testing - expenditures

20 Mar
6

Substantive testing, documentation

- Substantive analytical procedures

- Substantive tests of details

- Documentation

27 Mar
7

MID-SEMESTER TEST (6 April)*

3 Apr
 

MID-SESSION BREAK

 

8

Corporate Governance, IT controls and big data

- Corporate governance

- Big data

- Using Excel for data analysis I

CASE STUDY SUBMISSION (26th Apr)

24 Apr**

9

Substantive testing using CAATs, analytics, sampling 

- Substantive testing using CAATs

- Data analytics

- Using Excel for data analysis II

- Audit sampling

1 May

10

Legal liability and ethics 

- Auditors' legal liability

- Professional ethics and auditor independence

8 May
11

Completion

- Communication

- Subsequent events

- Audit reporting 

- Going concern 

15 May

12

Current issues

- Other assurance services

- Audit quality

22 May

13

Course review and revision

29 May

* There are no timetabled classes (lectures or tutorials) in Week 7. Students MUST make themselves available on Thursday 6th April to take the mid-semester test. The test will have a one-hour duration and students may begin the test any time from 10am onwards. The latest finishing time is 12 noon. Further details on the mid-semester test will be available on iLearn by Week 5.

** Note that Tuesday 25th April is a Public Holiday. Refer to iLearn for alternative arrangements for scheduled classes.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

Refinements to unit content to reflect updated materials.


Unit information based on version 2023.04 of the Handbook