ACC402E Internal Control and Audit

• Topics

  The course covers selected topics in internal control and auditing of financial statements. Students will learn about internal control from the perspective of the company and the auditor. The audit part of the course covers the entire audit process from planning to implementation and conclusion of the audit assignment. Specifically, the following topics will be covered:

  •The company's responsibility for establishing good internal control and documentation of financial reporting

  • Mapping, risk assessment and establishment of internal control for revenue, purchasing and inventory areas.

  • Use of data analyzes and sampling for testing of internal control for the company and in auditing

  • Documentation of annual accounts for the company

  • The background for the audit and the content of the audit

  • Auditing in a societal perspective, the auditing profession and regulations

  • Audit planning, including the determination of materiality and the inclusion of sustainability and climate related risks

  • Risk assessments, including assessment of fraud risk

  • Assessment of internal control and the significance for the audit

  • Obtaining and evaluating audit evidence

  • Auditor's conclusion and reporting in the auditor's report

• Learning outcome

  Upon course completion, the candidate:

  Knowledge

  • has knowledge how the firm should document the financial report
  • has knowledge of the company vs. the auditor's responsibility for establishing internal control over and documentation of financial reporting
  • has a good conceptual and practical understanding of modern internal control, including the COSO framework and knowledge of SOX
  • has in-depth knowledge of risk assessment and proposing good internal controls for the revenue, purchasing and inventory areas
  • has knowledge of different types of data analyses and samples for testing of internal control and for use in auditing
  • has knowledge of the demand for auditing and the auditor's fundamental role in capital markets
  • has insight into auditing in an international perspective, the background for regulations and key factors that shape the content of a modern audit
  • has an understanding of society's, the authorities', investors' and other stakeholders' expectations of the auditor, and knowledge of the tasks and duties of an auditor
  • has knowledge of the basic audit concepts: materiality, audit risk and audit evidence
  • has knowledge of the importance of sustainability and climate related risks when auditing financial statements
  • has knowledge of how the auditor concludes and expresses his opinion on the accounts in the auditor's report
  • has knowledge of the requirements for auditing the ESG-reports

  Skills

  • can assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including fraud risk
  • can assess risk and propose good internal controls for the revenue, purchasing and inventory areas
  • can plan an audit, including determining materiality
  • understands the importance of the company's internal control for the audit and understands how the audit can build on the internal control
  • understands how audit evidence is obtained to deal with the estimated risks and how audit evidence is evaluated
  • can design and evaluate the result of simple data analyses for use in auditing
  • can evaluate, conclude and report on the result of the audit

  General competence

  • has good insight into the basic theoretical and practical foundation of modern internal control, including the frameworks that Norwegian and international companies follow
  • has good insight into the basic theoretical foundation, as well as the regulatory and practical understanding, which is necessary to carry out a modern and effective audit
  • has developed the ability to reason independently about key internal control and audit issues
  • can communicate professionally within the topic in English

• Teaching

  The teaching follows the conceptual approach and content of the textbook, which is adapted to the content of the Norwegian and International Auditing Standards (ISAs). Students' insights into auditing and internal control are developed on the basis of basic auditing concepts and frameworks. These are applied to key audit and internal control issues, and are illustrated with practical cases and examples.

  The class meetings consists of a mix of traditional lectures, discussions, and exercise sessions and are complemented by assignments and self-studying.

• Restricted access

  No restrictions.

• Required prerequisites

  None.

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  ACC402N is the Norwegian equivalent of ACC401E

  ACC402E is a continuation of MRR411 Revision I, and cannot be taken in combination with ACC402N, MRR411, MRR411E or BUS426E.

• Compulsory Activity

  One group-based (2 to 4 students) assignment with a passing grade.

  Previous compulsory activities (work requirements) will still be valid even if the compulsory activities (work requirements) have been changed later. This also applies to previous courses with course codes MRR411N, MRR411E, BUS426N and BUS426E. Valid compulsory activities (work requirements) in ACC402E Internal Control and Audit is valid as compulsory activities (work requirements) for ACC402N Internkontroll og revisjon, and vice versa.

  In the event of repetition under the right to postal studies pursuant to the Regulations on full-time studies at the Norwegian School of Economics § 2-10, no requirement for compulsory activities (work requirements) applies.

• Assessment

  Four hour digital written individual school exam in English that covers the syllabus, including content in lectures and exercises. All answers must be written in English.

• Grading Scale

  A - F

• Literature

  Textbook:

  Eilifsen, Aa., W. F. Messier Jr., S. M. Glover and D. F. Prawitt. (EMGP) 2014. Auditing & Assurance Services Third International Edition, McGraw-Hill.

  See also the book's website: http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0077143019/information_center_view0/index.html

  Supplemental reading:

  Hayes, R., P. Wallage and P. Eimers. 2021. Principles of International Auditing and Assurance Fourth Edition, Amsterdam University Press

  Other supplementary materials are available on Canvas.

  Lectures, exercises and assignments are an important part of the course syllabus.

• Permitted Support Material

  Calculator

  One bilingual dictionary (Category I)

  All in accordance with Supplementary provisions to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programmes at the Norwegian School of Economics Ch.4 Permitted support materialhttps://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/and https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/