Presentation format, relevant experience and task performance

Abstract

On every engagement, auditors are required to obtain a sufficient understanding of the internal control structure to plan the audit and determine the nature, timing and extent of audit tests. The evaluation of control weaknesses is important for error and fraud detection and for the avoidance of audit failure. To document their understanding of client internal control systems, auditors have relied upon two common formats – internal control narratives and flowcharts. The choice of format is important because it can affect the use and interpretation of information. The purpose of this study is to examine if documentation format affects performance. Results suggest that, while documentation format did not affect performance, internal auditing experience was important, regardless of the documentation format used.