Methodology Update—June 2023
Jun-2023
Target audience: All Attest Auditors
Effective date:
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Updates related to CAS 220 (Revised) are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2022.
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Other updates are effective upon release.
Prepared by: Audit Services
Standards: This update reflects up to CPA Canada—Assurance—Update Number 37—May 2022.
Description of subject: The update includes changes to audit procedures and templates. Changes to audit manual policies and guidance, and Intranet changes will be reflected in the fall update. Significant changes to the methodology are summarized below.
Key changes are:
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Updated templates and procedures to align with CAS 220 (Revised)—Quality management for an audit of financial statements (CAS 220R).
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Updated procedures for new and enhanced requirements to comply with CAS 220 (Revised)
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Procedure improvements to assist auditors in complying with the requirements of CSOA 5000—Use of the practitioner’s communication or name
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Removal of COVID‑19 procedure—Evaluation of and Audit Response to Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic
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Updated the Report to the Audit Committee—Annual Audit Plan, the Report to the Audit Committee—Annual Audit Results and the Report Clearance Summary templates to enhance guidance for auditors when a breach of independence has occurred
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Removal of the Control Matrix template
Updates to the Annual Audit Procedures
The following is a summary of all revisions other than editorial revisions.
Annual Audit Procedures Cabinet
| Program (PRG) | Procedure Step | Change |
|---|---|---|
|
A.1.PRG—Audit Mandate and Client Acceptance and Continuance |
CPA Canada licence Agreement (Jun‑2023) |
Copyright date changed from 2022 to 2023. |
|
A.2.PRG—Timetable and Engagement Management |
Independence and ethical requirements (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
A.3.PRG—Team Management |
Team mobilization (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
C.2.PRG—Develop audit plan |
Determine audit strategy and plan (Jun‑2023) |
Deleted step related to the coronavirus pandemic. New and enhanced steps in the tab ‘Planning meeting’ to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
C.3.PRG—Report to the Audit Committee—Annual Audit Plan |
Communications—Planning (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
C.4.PRG - Planning Sign‑Off |
Engagement leader and team manager—Planning sign-off (Jun‑2023) |
New and enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
D.1.PRG—Completion and Reporting Activities |
Communications with those charged with governance—Report to the Audit Committee (Jun‑2023) |
New and enhanced steps for post-audit surveys. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
Update initial assessment of independence (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
|
D.3.PRG—Completion Sign-Off |
Report clearance summary (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
Engagement leader and team manager—Completion sign‑off (Jun‑2023) |
New and enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
Annual Audit Procedures—Supplement Cabinet
| Program (PRG) | Procedure Step | Change |
|---|---|---|
|
B.1.PRG Group Auditor—Planning |
GA—Scoping & strategy (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps in tab ‘Component auditors’ to align with CAS 220R. Updated steps and references for CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
B.4.PRG—Component Auditor—Completion |
CA—Engagement leader and team manager—Completion sign‑off Group Reporting (Jun‑2023) |
New and enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
B.7 PRG—Component Auditor—Shared Service Center |
Plan use of Shared Service Centers (“SSC”) (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
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Obtain evidence from SSC auditor regarding transactions processed at SSC (Jun‑2023) |
Updated steps and references for CAS 220R and also to improve alignment with CAS 315R. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
|
D.1.PRG—Reliance on the Work of Others |
Plan use of work of auditor’s experts—[FSLI] (Jun‑2023) |
Enhanced steps to align with CAS 220R Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
G.1.PRG—Written Consent |
Provide written or verbal consent—Section 5000 (Jun‑2023) |
Added new steps and other procedure improvements to assist auditors in complying with the requirements of CSOA 5000—Use of the practitioner’s communication or name. Procedure document has been replaced by |
|
I.1.PRG—COVID‑19 |
Evaluation of and Audit Response to Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic (Oct‑2020) |
Procedure document |
Updates to templates
The following is a summary of all revisions other than editorial revisions and any actions that need to be taken:
|
Planning |
Internal Control Framework—Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |
Deleted |
This template is removed (outdated). |
|
Planning |
Audit Planning Template—Instructions—CAS 315 |
Removal of the section with regards to the Control matrix template. |
Refer to the updated template moving forward. |
|
Planning |
Control Matrix |
Deleted |
This template is removed as a result of the improved version of the procedure ‘Understand and evaluate the components of the entity’s system of internal—Control activities’. |
|
Planning |
Report to the Audit Committee—Annual Audit Plan |
Updated section ‘Your audit team and timetable’ to include guidance for when a breach of independence has occurred. |
The updated template needs to be used by all audit teams moving forward. |
|
Reporting |
Report Clearance Summary |
Updated section ‘Independence’ to include guidance for when a breach of independence has occurred. |
The updated template needs to be used by all audit teams moving forward. |
|
Reporting |
Report to the Audit Committee—Annual Audit Results |
Updated section ‘Other required communications’ to include guidance for when a breach of independence has occurred. |
The updated template needs to be used by all audit teams moving forward. |
|
Reporting |
Survey Following a Financial Audit—Chair—Electronic Version |
Deleted templates—replaced with link to the Checkbox application |
Audit teams need to use the link for their request. |
|
Reporting |
Survey Following a Financial Audit—Management—Electronic Version |
||
|
Reporting |
Survey Following an Audit of Public Accounts—Central Agency—Electronic Version |
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| Annual Audit Templates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase | Template Name | Change | Action Required/Impact |
Updates to INTRAnet
The Financial Audit INTRAnet pages reflect the changes included in this Methodology Update.