New guidance on audit evidence has been issued.

This guideline specifies the requirements for audit evidence in the audit activities of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAO); it applies to units under the SAO and organizations and individuals participating in the SAO's audit activities.

The issuance of the Guidelines on Audit Evidence aims to further specify certain provisions of the State Audit Standards, linking them to the audit areas of the State Audit Office; and at the same time, help state auditors design and implement audit procedures to collect sufficient appropriate audit evidence to serve as the basis for making audit assessments, opinions, and recommendations.

According to the Guidelines, audit evidence is understood as documents and information collected by the State Auditor related to the audit, serving as the basis for evaluation, confirmation, and audit recommendations. Audit evidence includes documents and information contained in accounting records, financial statements, and other documents and information.

Examples include: financial statements, accounting books, accounting documents provided by the entity; confirmations from third parties; results of analytical procedures performed by the State Auditor, interview transcripts, meeting minutes; audit evidence may also include documents recording the procedures performed by the State Auditor to confirm the entity's data and reports (State Auditor's calculation sheets on deductions; State Auditor's work log; minutes confirming data and audit status by the State Auditor; calculation sheets confirmed by the entity, relevant parties, etc.).

The guidelines specify the documents and information used as audit evidence, including audit evidence related to the data and information that form the basis of the audit presented in the audit report and audit minutes. These are the necessary documents and information collected by the State Auditor related to the data and information presented in the audit report and audit minutes, and based on these documents and information, the State Auditor provides an assessment and audit opinion.

Audit evidence relating to findings, errors, limitations, and audit recommendations: This includes documents and information collected by the State Auditor related to findings, errors, and limitations, and based on this documentation and information, the State Auditor provides an audit assessment and opinion.

Audit evidence must be complete and appropriate. Specifically: The appropriateness of audit evidence is a criterion for evaluating the quality of audit evidence. The quality of audit evidence is influenced by its relevance, relevance, validity, and reliability.

The guidance emphasizes that the sufficiency and appropriateness of audit evidence are interrelated. The quantity of audit evidence to be collected is influenced by the quality of the evidence, and the quality of the evidence determines the quantity to be collected. The higher the quality of each piece of audit evidence, the less evidence may be needed. However, collecting a large amount of audit evidence does not guarantee its quality.

According to the Guidelines, the State Auditor must gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence to obtain reasonable assurance, thereby reducing audit risk to an acceptable low level.

The guidelines provide detailed regulations on the source of audit evidence, audit procedures for collecting audit evidence, etc.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/ban-hanh-huong-dan-moi-ve-bang-chung-kiem-toan-10400668.html