Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identify and assess the
risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform
audit procedures responsive to those risks,including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide
a basis for our opinion.
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non
compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
· the nature of the industry and sector, and control environment;
· results of our enquiries of management;
· any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the company's documentation of their policies and
procedures relating to:
· identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of
any instances of non-compliance;
· detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual,
suspected or alleged fraud;
· the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and
regulations.
· the matters discussed among the audit engagement team.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the
organisation for fraud and irregularities. Income recognition, purchases and stock were key areas of focus. In
common with all audits under ISA's (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk
of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in, focusing
on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements, such as tax legislation and relevant companies acts.
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial
statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the company's ability to operate or to avoid a material
penalty. These include laws and regulations pertaining to employment regulations; and health and safety legislation.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
· reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess
compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the
financial statements;
· enquiring of management concerning actual potential litigation and claims;
· performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks
of material misstatement due to fraud;
· reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
· in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of
journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting
estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant
transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team
members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities ocurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.