BA313 - Auditing

Credit Points: 15 credit points

Workload: 36 hours

Prerequisite: BA214 Corporate Accounting

Co-requisite: N/A

Aims & Objectives

This is a third-year Core Unit in the Bachelor of Business, major in Accounting. For Course Learning Outcomes and further information relating to Bachelor of Business programs please visit our website:  http://www.mit.edu.au/study-with-us/programs/bachelor-business.

This unit provides an introduction to the underlying concepts and objectives of auditing including the professional standards, law, and fieldwork practices of auditing in Australia. Emphasis is placed on the auditing process and ethical considerations, independence, and corporate governance.
Unit topics include:

  • The nature of auditing & professional ethics
  • The audit report
  • Audit responsibilities and objectives
  • Risk assessment and materiality
  • Audit evidence
  • Audit planning
  • The auditor’s legal environment
  • Internal control and control risk assessment
  • Overall audit plan and audit program
  • Completing the audit

Learning Outcomes

The Course learning outcomes applicable to this unit are listed on the Melbourne Institute of Technology’s website: www.mit.edu.au
At the completion of this unit students should be able to:
a. Explain the organisation’s and the auditor’s responsibilities for an audit.
b. Discuss reasons for performing different types of audits.
c. Understand the importance of planning an audit and distinguish the steps involved.
d. Explain and apply the auditing standards, practice and process of auditing to practical situations.
e. Identify and evaluate the risks inherent in an audit, and report on current auditing issues.

Assessment

Assessment Task Due Date A B Unit Learning Outcomes
1. Formative Assessment Week 3 - 5% a
2. Contribution and Participation Weeks 1-12 - 5% a-e
3. Assignment [Individual] Week 5 20% - -
4. Assignment [Group] Week 8 20% - a-e
5. Case Study Analysis [3 hours] TBA - 50% a-e
TOTALS   40% 60%  

Task Type: Type A: unsupervised, Type B: supervised.

Contribution and Participation (5%)

Students are expected to attend each scheduled class, arrive on time and remain for the entire session. Adherence to this requirement will be reflected in the marks awarded for this assessment. Students are also strongly encouraged to actively participate in the class discussions and tutorial activities by answering questions, expressing their opinions, insights and their learnings from the course during the class hours.

Students are expected to contribute and participate actively in weekly online Moodle discussion forums. Students are also strongly encouraged to take the lead and facilitate active communication and interaction among their peers enrolled in this unit and academics.  The well-structured student discussion forums organized in this unit should be better utilized by assisting other students to review the unit content prior an assessment, expressing their opinions on materials that they read, insights and their learnings from the course in their free time. Adherence to this requirement will be continuously monitored by the academics outside the class hours and reflected in the marks awarded for this assessment.

Teaching Methods

NOTE: All School of Business units 3-hour workshops Flipped Classroom Mode.

Textbook and Reference Materials

Note: Students are required to purchase the prescribed text book and have it available each week in class.

Prescribed Text Book

  • Leung, P., Coram, P., Cooper. B., Richardson, P., (2019) Audit and Assurance 1st Edn., John Wiley and Sons Australia.

Other recommended texts

  • Gay, G, & Simnett, R. (2018). Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia (7th edition). McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Australia.
  • Johnstone, K., Gramling, A., & Rittenberg, L. E. (2018). Auditing: A Risk-Based Approach to Conducting a Quality Audit, 11th edition. Cengage Learning. 
  • Arens, Best, Shailer, Fiedler, Elder, Beasley (2016). Auditing, Assurance Services and Ethics in Australia, 10th edition, Pearson.
  • Leung, Coram, Cooper, Richardson (2015). Modern Auditing & Assurance Services, 6th ed. Wiley. 

Journals and Business publications

  • Michael Kend and Ilias Basioudis (2018). Reforms to the Market for Audit and Assurance Services in the Period after the Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the UK. Australian Accounting Review, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 589-597.
  • Dana R. Hermanson, Richard W. Houston, Chad M. Stefaniak, and Anne M. Wilkins (2016). The Work Environment in Large Audit Firms: Current Perceptions and Possible Improvements. Current Issues in Auditing: Fall 2016, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. A38-A61.
  • Rebecca G. Fay and Sarah E. Stein (2016). Teaching Students About Audit Reports: An Interactive Approach. Current Issues in Auditing: Fall 2016, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. I14-I25.
  • David Hay, Jenny Stewart and Nives Botica Redmayne (2017). The Role of Auditing in Corporate Governance in Australia and New Zealand: A Research Synthesis. Australian Accounting Review, Vol 27, No. 4, pp. 457-479.

The Referencing style for this using is APA: See the MIT Library Referencing webpage: https://library.mit.edu.au/referencing/APA and the Unit Moodle page for additional referencing support material and weblinks.

Graduate Attributes

MIT is committed to ensure the course is current, practical and relevant so that graduates are “work ready” and equipped for life-long learning. In order to accomplish this, the MIT Graduate Attributes identify the required knowledge, skills and attributes that prepare students for the industry.
The level to which Graduate Attributes covered in this unit are as follows:

Ability to communicate Independent and Lifelong Learning Ethics Analytical and Problem Solving Cultural and Global Awareness Team work Specialist knowledge of a field of study

Legend

Levels of attainment Extent covered
The attribute is covered by theory and practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students always play an active role, e.g. workshops, lab submissions, assignments, demonstrations, tests, examinations.
The attribute is covered by theory or practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students mostly play an active role, e.g. discussions, reading, intepreting documents, tests, examinations.
The attribute is discussed in theory or practice; it is addressed by assessed activities in which the students may play an active role, e.g. lectures and discussions, reading, interpretation, workshops, presentations.
The attribute is presented as a side issue in theory or practice; it is not specifically assessed, but it is addressed by activities such as lectures or tutorials.
The attribute is not considered, there is no theory or practice or activities associated with this attribute.