ACCT30004: Auditing and Assurance Services

1hr mid sem test (15%), group assignment (15%), 3hr exam (70%).

Hello final subject review. It’s been a ride getting to this 6th accounting review. And how nice of it to end with this subject taking out the highest rating I’ve awarded out of all my reviews. Anywho, let’s get this underway.

Audit is almost like a culmination of everything accounting related that you’ve learnt; you need to know some journal entries from ARA/IFA to know what may have been recorded incorrectly, there’s a couple of those flowchart things from APA, the process of appointing an auditor that was touched on in corp law… but don’t get me wrong, it’s not heavily reliant on past knowledge coz you learn a lot of new stuff too. There are no calculations at all; it is mainly about the audit process, from client acceptance -> audit planning -> audit procedures and evidence -> audit opinion. I mean, that’s a very simplified overview but you can see the subject actually flows and it’s not like a new topic pulled out of thin air each week. I also think it gives you a good idea of what it would actually be like to work as an auditor.

I quite liked audit and a part of that is because Trevor is one of the best lecturers I’ve had and my tutor was one of the best tutors I’ve had, and I’m usually pretty dependent on the lecturer and tutor. Trevor is a good balance of serious and funny, his explanations are clear and he’s approachable. He does sometimes tend to use complicated language, particularly in the mid sem test, but I personally didn’t mind that too much.

A bit about the assessments; mid sem wasn’t too bad if you understand the first few lectures that the test covers, group assignment wasn’t too bad if you understand the tutes related to the topics that the assignment covers however I’ve heard it was marked relatively hard, and the exam is of course a mix of testing your understanding of both lectures and tutorials and you get an idea of the style of exam qs by looking at past exams.
Audit is the final accounting subject for a reason; I mean you can’t exactly audit accounts if you don’t even know how the accounts came about in the first place but to me, the subject was more interesting than I had expected and I ended up quite enjoying it. And on that note, it’s time for me to sign off and say thank you to all those who have taken the time to read my review/s

Yes, with screen capture.

Trevor Tonkin

There were three but one was like from 2005 and not really relevant. Solutions weren't provided; only general comments on how to approach each question were given for one of the past exams.

4.25 out of 5

The textbook used was Modern Auditing and Assurance Services. In terms of subject content, lectures were sufficient in my opinion. However, tute questions come from the textbook so you’ll probably have to grab a copy from the library and take photos if you don’t buy the book.

1 x 2hr lecture and 1 x 1hr tutorial a week

2016, semester 2

TBA

15% Group Assignment, 15% Midsem Test, 70% 3hr+15mins Final Exam

Completed in groups of strictly 3 or 4 people, not necessarily from your tute. Make sure you read the questions carefully and use accounting standards to understand what is required. I don’t think the word count was that constraining, but overall the assignments were marked quite harshly, average being 11/15. It is possible to start (and finish) the assignment quite early on, as the content required has all been learnt when its released (I think).

The last accounting subject – and rightfully so! Auditing really builds on past accounting subjects, including ARA, IFA1, IFA2, APA (and even a bit of BLAW!). Trevor does suggest brushing up on previous accounting knowledge before the exam, and there are often questions that relate specifically to certain debits and credits (IFA1/2), ratios (ARA) and information systems (APA).

Trevor is aware of these ATARnotes subject reviews, and I don’t know if he’ll ever see this but *waves. You can tell that Trevor is very familiar with auditing, being a veteran auditor himself. However, his lectures are quite dry, as the content isn’t all that hard. That being said though, he does sometimes scribble stuff on the blackboard, which does assist understanding. He also did a mini review lecture to help identify the links between the topics, which is fundamental for the exam. He really sets you up to know the required content, and thus if you need help, he is very willing to assist anyone who cares to ask.

A flaw I think though is that he often uses complicated language (in lectures and exams qs), which is often fundamental to understanding the question, that international students find difficult to understand. If English is a weakness of yours, dictionaries are your friend! There is enough time to use it, don’t worry.

Through the practice exams, you get a feel for what kind of questions you’ll get. Dare I say that in many ways, I think the exam is easier than the actual lecture content. Lectures cover a lot of specific content, but to answer the exam qs, you really just need bits from each topic. It’s identifying which bits, why, and how they apply to the specific scenario that is the difficult part. Thankfully, Trevor provides tables to help you structure your answer that you’ll get used to when preparing with the practice papers.

To prepare, know the core concepts loosely. I usually write out an overall course summary, but found that it wasn’t that helpful for this subject. Redoing the tute work and discussing the practice exams with friends was way more effective (because Trevor did not give exam solutions, although I think they discussed key points you should address in the exam consults). As discussed above, do brush up on your previous accounting knowledge! I think Trevor enjoys chucking at least one “curveball” question in the exam that requires previous understanding.

Yes, with screen capture.

Trevor Tonkin

I think it was around 40qs for 15%? The average was 30/40. What made it harder than usual was the inclusion of questions testing really specific things that weren’t necessarily mentioned in the lectures. This made reading the textbook essential to getting full marks. Thankfully, you don’t really need the textbook for the rest of the course. Be careful of the wording of the question, and of the answers. Redoing tute qs wasn’t very helpful.

I surprisingly enjoyed auditing more than I expected. Understand the content (the main bits you need), and just be smart at how you apply it.
Well, that’s me signing off on the last subject review I’ll ever do for my undergrad. Hopefully they were helpful, and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to PM me!

Yes, 3 exams, but only one provided with very general tips, ie. no solutions.

4 Out of 5

Modern Auditing & Assurance Services, 6th ed. Leung. Required for tute qs, and important for the midsem, but not overly helpful otherwise. If you do end up buying it, the 5th ed is sufficient (only outdated for the last two topics, which are covered very well in lectures/tutes anyway).

Tute qs are drawn from the newest version (6th ed) of the textbook. If you don’t want to buy it, just borrow from the library and take photos. Although there aren’t any tute marks, attendance is almost essential – if you don’t go, you really won’t know how to answer the questions. Tutes are all about application of the theory learnt in lectures.

I didn’t prepare beforehand for the tutorials, but make sure you read the questions so you understand the key points being raised. The online solutions posted on the LMS are far less detailed than the content you get from going to a tute. Some tutors go indepth into the theory, whilst some focus on the ideal, solid answer, so I’ve known some people to go to two tutes to get a reinforced understanding.

1x2hr Lecture, 1x1hr Tute

2015 Sem 2

15% mid-semester test, 15% group assignment, 70% final exam (hurdle requirement)

This subject was much better than I expected actually. Back in first year I had a terrible feeling that this subject would be similar to the first year accounting subject "Accounting Processes and Analysis", a subject which I found incredibly dry and boring. Luckily Auditing and Assurance Services wasn't as boring as I thought it would be. Trevor is a fantastic engaging lecturer, and I found him to be quite passionate about the subject, and he seemed fairly approachable if any students required extra help understanding some of the concepts we learned in class.

I would recommend that students taking this subject attend lectures because Trevor utilised the blackboard in my lecture theatre quite frequently to draw timelines and other diagrams to assist in his explanations of certain concepts in class. The tutorials for this subject were also quite well run. Each week a list of discussion questions from the textbook were posted on the LMS. I highly advise students to at least read and attempt the questions before the tutorial each week so that you are aware of what was being discussed in class. I found the classes to be rather "full on", meaning that there was very little time for tutors to summarise tutorial questions (which should've been attempted anyway beforehand). I'm not sure how useful the textbook was, but as I've written above, I advise students to get access to a copy of the book in the commerce library and take some photos since preparing for the tutorials is essential to getting a decent mark in the subject (in my opinion). You might also have noticed that this accounting subject doesn't award any marks for tutorial participation, which is a change from the majority of accounting subjects in the major. However I still believe that speaking up in class is a good idea since you can bounce your ideas off your classmates and get a better learning experience in this manner. Tutorial solutions were available after each class but they are of limited usefulness since Trevor and the tutors always emphasised that the process rather than the final answer was the most important thing in the subject.

As for the assessment, the mid-semester test wasn't too difficult. As long as you revise your concepts and the "nitty-gritty stuff" as my tutor put it, it should be fairly straightforward. The mid-semester test only covered weeks 1 to 5, and it had a particular focus upon ethics and the legal liability of the auditor. The group assignment had to be completed in groups of 3 or 4 (no exceptions), so if you don't know anyone else taking the subject, I advise you to make friends in it as soon as possible. The assignment itself seemed harshly marked to me, since the average mark was 10/15. For my assignment we had to prepare an audit assessment report addressing the key areas of concern based off a case study given to us. A lot of referencing is required in relation to the auditing standards for the assignment so it's advisable that you pay attention to the section numbers in classes.

Lastly the final exam was a bit tricky in my opinion. There are 8 short answer questions worth 100 marks in total. All of them are aimed at testing different areas of the course. Each of them had a lot of reading since they were basically mini-case studies, so it's best if you read the question first, and then brainstorm possible answers before actually writing out your final answer in the exam. I adopted that technique during the exam and I finished with a bit of time to spare, so there's no real need to rush yourself if you plan and pace yourself properly.

Overall this subject was better than I was expecting. Coming off the dry Accounting Processes and Analysis subject, I was fairly surprised to see that Auditing as a whole be more applicable and practical.

Yes with screen capture

Trevor Tonkin

2 past exams available. One (2010 exam) had feedback sheets identifying areas where students had the most amount of trouble. The other exam (2014 exam) had no feedback sheet available (had to attend a consult for suggested solutions).

3.5 Out of 5

Leung, P, Coram, P, Cooper, B, Richardson, P (2015), Modern Auditing & Assurance Services, 6th Ed, John Wiley, Qld. I never bought or read the textbook so I'm not sure how useful it was. I recommend at least getting access to a copy in the library though (and taking pictures) since the weekly tutorial questions came straight from the textbook.

1 x 2 hour lecture per week, 1 x 1 hour tutorial (starting in week 2) per week

2015, Semester 2

TBA