assignment audit your understanding 6 4 (practice)

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4.2: Writing Assignments

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• Page ID 146826

• Sarah Irvine, Cristy Bartlett, & Kate Derrington
• University of Southern Queensland

Introduction

Assignments are a common method of assessment at university and require careful planning and good quality research. Developing critical thinking and writing skills are also necessary to demonstrate your ability to understand and apply information about your topic. It is not uncommon to be unsure about the processes of writing assignments at university.

• You may be returning to study after a break
• You may have come from an exam based assessment system and never written an assignment before
• Maybe you have written assignments but would like to improve your processes and strategies

This chapter has a collection of resources that will provide you with the skills and strategies to understand assignment requirements and effectively plan, research, write and edit your assignments. It begins with an explanation of how to analyse an assignment task and start putting your ideas together. It continues by breaking down the components of academic writing and exploring the elements you will need to master in your written assignments. This is followed by a discussion of paraphrasing and synthesis, and how you can use these strategies to create a strong, written argument. The chapter concludes with useful checklists for editing and proofreading to help you get the best possible mark for your work.

Task Analysis and Deconstructing an Assignment

It is important that before you begin researching and writing your assignments you spend sufficient time understanding all the requirements. This will help make your research process more efficient and effective. Check your subject information such as task sheets, criteria sheets and any additional information that may be in your subject portal online. Seek clarification from your lecturer or tutor if you are still unsure about how to begin your assignments.

The task sheet typically provides key information about an assessment including the assignment question. It can be helpful to scan this document for topic, task and limiting words to ensure that you fully understand the concepts you are required to research, how to approach the assignment, and the scope of the task you have been set. These words can typically be found in your assignment question and are outlined in more detail in the two tables below.

Table 17.1 Parts of an assignment question

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the task word requires you to address.

Table 17.2 Task words

The criteria sheet , also known as the marking sheet or rubric, is another important document to look at before you begin your assignment. The criteria sheet outlines how your assignment will be marked and should be used as a checklist to make sure you have included all the information required.

The task or criteria sheet will also include the:

• Word limit (or word count)
• Referencing style and research expectations
• Formatting requirements

Task analysis and criteria sheets are also discussed in the chapter Managing Assessments for a more detailed discussion on task analysis, criteria sheets, and marking rubrics.

Preparing your ideas

Brainstorm or concept map: List possible ideas to address each part of the assignment task based on what you already know about the topic from lectures and weekly readings.

Finding appropriate information: Learn how to find scholarly information for your assignments which is

See the chapter Working With Information for a more detailed explanation .

What is academic writing?

Academic writing tone and style.

Many of the assessment pieces you prepare will require an academic writing style. This is sometimes called ‘academic tone’ or ‘academic voice’. This section will help you to identify what is required when you are writing academically (see Table 17.3 ). The best way to understand what academic writing looks like, is to read broadly in your discipline area. Look at how your course readings, or scholarly sources, are written. This will help you identify the language of your discipline field, as well as how other writers structure their work.

Table 17.3 Comparison of academic and non-academic writing

Thesis statements.

Essays are a common form of assessment that you will likely encounter during your university studies. You should apply an academic tone and style when writing an essay, just as you would in in your other assessment pieces. One of the most important steps in writing an essay is constructing your thesis statement. A thesis statement tells the reader the purpose, argument or direction you will take to answer your assignment question. A thesis statement may not be relevant for some questions, if you are unsure check with your lecturer. The thesis statement:

• Directly relates to the task . Your thesis statement may even contain some of the key words or synonyms from the task description.
• Does more than restate the question.
• Is specific and uses precise language.
• Let’s your reader know your position or the main argument that you will support with evidence throughout your assignment.
• The subject is the key content area you will be covering.
• The contention is the position you are taking in relation to the chosen content.

Your thesis statement helps you to structure your essay. It plays a part in each key section: introduction, body and conclusion.

Planning your assignment structure

When planning and drafting assignments, it is important to consider the structure of your writing. Academic writing should have clear and logical structure and incorporate academic research to support your ideas. It can be hard to get started and at first you may feel nervous about the size of the task, this is normal. If you break your assignment into smaller pieces, it will seem more manageable as you can approach the task in sections. Refer to your brainstorm or plan. These ideas should guide your research and will also inform what you write in your draft. It is sometimes easier to draft your assignment using the 2-3-1 approach, that is, write the body paragraphs first followed by the conclusion and finally the introduction.

Writing introductions and conclusions

Clear and purposeful introductions and conclusions in assignments are fundamental to effective academic writing. Your introduction should tell the reader what is going to be covered and how you intend to approach this. Your conclusion should summarise your argument or discussion and signal to the reader that you have come to a conclusion with a final statement. These tips below are based on the requirements usually needed for an essay assignment, however, they can be applied to other assignment types.

Writing introductions

Most writing at university will require a strong and logically structured introduction. An effective introduction should provide some background or context for your assignment, clearly state your thesis and include the key points you will cover in the body of the essay in order to prove your thesis.

Usually, your introduction is approximately 10% of your total assignment word count. It is much easier to write your introduction once you have drafted your body paragraphs and conclusion, as you know what your assignment is going to be about. An effective introduction needs to inform your reader by establishing what the paper is about and provide four basic things:

• A brief background or overview of your assignment topic
• A thesis statement (see section above)
• An outline of your essay structure
• An indication of any parameters or scope that will/ will not be covered, e.g. From an Australian perspective.

The below example demonstrates the four different elements of an introductory paragraph.

1) Information technology is having significant effects on the communication of individuals and organisations in different professions. 2) This essay will discuss the impact of information technology on the communication of health professionals. 3) First, the provision of information technology for the educational needs of nurses will be discussed. 4) This will be followed by an explanation of the significant effects that information technology can have on the role of general practitioner in the area of public health. 5) Considerations will then be made regarding the lack of knowledge about the potential of computers among hospital administrators and nursing executives. 6) The final section will explore how information technology assists health professionals in the delivery of services in rural areas . 7) It will be argued that information technology has significant potential to improve health care and medical education, but health professionals are reluctant to use it.

1 Brief background/ overview | 2 Indicates the scope of what will be covered | 3-6 Outline of the main ideas (structure) | 7 The thesis statement

Note : The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.

Writing conclusions

You should aim to end your assignments with a strong conclusion. Your conclusion should restate your thesis and summarise the key points you have used to prove this thesis. Finish with a key point as a final impactful statement. Similar to your introduction, your conclusion should be approximately 10% of the total assignment word length. If your assessment task asks you to make recommendations, you may need to allocate more words to the conclusion or add a separate recommendations section before the conclusion. Use the checklist below to check your conclusion is doing the right job.

Conclusion checklist

• Have you referred to the assignment question and restated your argument (or thesis statement), as outlined in the introduction?
• Have you pulled together all the threads of your essay into a logical ending and given it a sense of unity?
• Have you presented implications or recommendations in your conclusion? (if required by your task).
• Have you added to the overall quality and impact of your essay? This is your final statement about this topic; thus, a key take-away point can make a great impact on the reader.
• Remember, do not add any new material or direct quotes in your conclusion.

This below example demonstrates the different elements of a concluding paragraph.

1) It is evident, therefore, that not only do employees need to be trained for working in the Australian multicultural workplace, but managers also need to be trained. 2) Managers must ensure that effective in-house training programs are provided for migrant workers, so that they become more familiar with the English language, Australian communication norms and the Australian work culture. 3) In addition, Australian native English speakers need to be made aware of the differing cultural values of their workmates; particularly the different forms of non-verbal communication used by other cultures. 4) Furthermore, all employees must be provided with clear and detailed guidelines about company expectations. 5) Above all, in order to minimise communication problems and to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance, understanding and cooperation in the multicultural workplace, managers need to have an effective knowledge about their employees. This will help employers understand how their employee’s social conditioning affects their beliefs about work. It will develop their communication skills to develop confidence and self-esteem among diverse work groups. 6) The culturally diverse Australian workplace may never be completely free of communication problems, however, further studies to identify potential problems and solutions, as well as better training in cross cultural communication for managers and employees, should result in a much more understanding and cooperative environment.

1 Reference to thesis statement – In this essay the writer has taken the position that training is required for both employees and employers . | 2-5 Structure overview – Here the writer pulls together the main ideas in the essay. | 6 Final summary statement that is based on the evidence.

Note: The examples in this document are taken from the University of Canberra and used under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 licence.

Writing paragraphs

Paragraph writing is a key skill that enables you to incorporate your academic research into your written work. Each paragraph should have its own clearly identified topic sentence or main idea which relates to the argument or point (thesis) you are developing. This idea should then be explained by additional sentences which you have paraphrased from good quality sources and referenced according to the recommended guidelines of your subject (see the chapter Working with Information ). Paragraphs are characterised by increasing specificity; that is, they move from the general to the specific, increasingly refining the reader’s understanding. A common structure for paragraphs in academic writing is as follows.

Topic Sentence

This is the main idea of the paragraph and should relate to the overall issue or purpose of your assignment is addressing. Often it will be expressed as an assertion or claim which supports the overall argument or purpose of your writing.

Explanation/ Elaboration

The main idea must have its meaning explained and elaborated upon. Think critically, do not just describe the idea.

These explanations must include evidence to support your main idea. This information should be paraphrased and referenced according to the appropriate referencing style of your course.

Concluding sentence (critical thinking)

This should explain why the topic of the paragraph is relevant to the assignment question and link to the following paragraph.

Use the checklist below to check your paragraphs are clear and well formed.

Paragraph checklist

• Does your paragraph have a clear main idea?
• Is everything in the paragraph related to this main idea?
• Is the main idea adequately developed and explained?
• Do your sentences run together smoothly?
• Have you included evidence to support your ideas?
• Have you concluded the paragraph by connecting it to your overall topic?

Writing sentences

Make sure all the sentences in your paragraphs make sense. Each sentence must contain a verb to be a complete sentence. Avoid sentence fragments . These are incomplete sentences or ideas that are unfinished and create confusion for your reader. Avoid also run on sentences . This happens when you join two ideas or clauses without using the appropriate punctuation. This also confuses your meaning (See the chapter English Language Foundations for examples and further explanation).

Use transitions (linking words and phrases) to connect your ideas between paragraphs and make your writing flow. The order that you structure the ideas in your assignment should reflect the structure you have outlined in your introduction. Refer to transition words table in the chapter English Language Foundations.

Paraphrasing and Synthesising

Paraphrasing and synthesising are powerful tools that you can use to support the main idea of a paragraph. It is likely that you will regularly use these skills at university to incorporate evidence into explanatory sentences and strengthen your essay. It is important to paraphrase and synthesise because:

• Paraphrasing is regarded more highly at university than direct quoting.
• Paraphrasing can also help you better understand the material.
• Paraphrasing and synthesising demonstrate you have understood what you have read through your ability to summarise and combine arguments from the literature using your own words.

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is changing the writing of another author into your words while retaining the original meaning. You must acknowledge the original author as the source of the information in your citation. Follow the steps in this table to help you build your skills in paraphrasing.

Table 17.4 Paraphrasing techniques

Example of paraphrasing.

Please note that these examples and in text citations are for instructional purposes only.

Original text

Health care professionals assist people often when they are at their most vulnerable . To provide the best care and understand their needs, workers must demonstrate good communication skills . They must develop patient trust and provide empathy to effectively work with patients who are experiencing a variety of situations including those who may be suffering from trauma or violence, physical or mental illness or substance abuse (French & Saunders, 2018).

Poor quality paraphrase example

This is a poor example of paraphrasing. Some synonyms have been used and the order of a few words changed within the sentences however the colours of the sentences indicate that the paragraph follows the same structure as the original text.

Health care sector workers are often responsible for vulnerable patients. To understand patients and deliver good service , they need to be excellent communicators . They must establish patient rapport and show empathy if they are to successfully care for patients from a variety of backgrounds and with different medical, psychological and social needs (French & Saunders, 2018).

A good quality paraphrase example

This example demonstrates a better quality paraphrase. The author has demonstrated more understanding of the overall concept in the text by using the keywords as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph. Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up to see how much the structure has changed from the original text.

Empathetic communication is a vital skill for health care workers. Professionals in these fields are often responsible for patients with complex medical, psychological and social needs. Empathetic communication assists in building rapport and gaining the necessary trust to assist these vulnerable patients by providing appropriate supportive care (French & Saunders, 2018).

The good quality paraphrase example demonstrates understanding of the overall concept in the text by using key words as the basis to reconstruct the paragraph. Note how the blocks of colour have been broken up, which indicates how much the structure has changed from the original text.

What is synthesising?

Synthesising means to bring together more than one source of information to strengthen your argument. Once you have learnt how to paraphrase the ideas of one source at a time, you can consider adding additional sources to support your argument. Synthesis demonstrates your understanding and ability to show connections between multiple pieces of evidence to support your ideas and is a more advanced academic thinking and writing skill.

Follow the steps in this table to improve your synthesis techniques.

Table 17.5 Synthesising techniques

Example of synthesis

There is a relationship between academic procrastination and mental health outcomes. Procrastination has been found to have a negative effect on students’ well-being (Balkis, & Duru, 2016). Yerdelen, McCaffrey, and Klassens’ (2016) research results suggested that there was a positive association between procrastination and anxiety. This was corroborated by Custer’s (2018) findings which indicated that students with higher levels of procrastination also reported greater levels of the anxiety. Therefore, it could be argued that procrastination is an ineffective learning strategy that leads to increased levels of distress.

Topic sentence | Statements using paraphrased evidence | Critical thinking (student voice) | Concluding statement – linking to topic sentence

This example demonstrates a simple synthesis. The author has developed a paragraph with one central theme and included explanatory sentences complete with in-text citations from multiple sources. Note how the blocks of colour have been used to illustrate the paragraph structure and synthesis (i.e., statements using paraphrased evidence from several sources). A more complex synthesis may include more than one citation per sentence.

Creating an argument

What does this mean.

Throughout your university studies, you may be asked to ‘argue’ a particular point or position in your writing. You may already be familiar with the idea of an argument, which in general terms means to have a disagreement with someone. Similarly, in academic writing, if you are asked to create an argument, this means you are asked to have a position on a particular topic, and then justify your position using evidence.

What skills do you need to create an argument?

In order to create a good and effective argument, you need to be able to:

• Read critically to find evidence
• Plan your argument
• Think and write critically throughout your paper to enhance your argument

For tips on how to read and write critically, refer to the chapter Thinking for more information. A formula for developing a strong argument is presented below.

A formula for a good argument

What does an argument look like?

As can be seen from the figure above, including evidence is a key element of a good argument. While this may seem like a straightforward task, it can be difficult to think of wording to express your argument. The table below provides examples of how you can illustrate your argument in academic writing.

Table 17.6 Argument

Editing and proofreading (reviewing).

Once you have finished writing your first draft it is recommended that you spend time revising your work. Proofreading and editing are two different stages of the revision process.

• Editing considers the overall focus or bigger picture of the assignment
• Proofreading considers the finer details

As can be seen in the figure above there are four main areas that you should review during the editing phase of the revision process. The main things to consider when editing include content, structure, style, and sources. It is important to check that all the content relates to the assignment task, the structure is appropriate for the purposes of the assignment, the writing is academic in style, and that sources have been adequately acknowledged. Use the checklist below when editing your work.

Editing checklist

• Have I answered the question accurately?
• Do I have enough credible, scholarly supporting evidence?
• Is my writing tone objective and formal enough or have I used emotive and informal language?
• Have I written in the third person not the first person?
• Do I have appropriate in-text citations for all my information?
• Have I included the full details for all my in-text citations in my reference list?

There are also several key things to look out for during the proofreading phase of the revision process. In this stage it is important to check your work for word choice, grammar and spelling, punctuation and referencing errors. It can be easy to mis-type words like ‘from’ and ‘form’ or mix up words like ‘trail’ and ‘trial’ when writing about research, apply American rather than Australian spelling, include unnecessary commas or incorrectly format your references list. The checklist below is a useful guide that you can use when proofreading your work.

Proofreading checklist

• Is my spelling and grammar accurate?
• Are they complete?
• Do they all make sense?
• Do they only contain only one idea?
• Do the different elements (subject, verb, nouns, pronouns) within my sentences agree?
• Are my sentences too long and complicated?
• Do they contain only one idea per sentence?
• Is my writing concise? Take out words that do not add meaning to your sentences.
• Have I used appropriate discipline specific language but avoided words I don’t know or understand that could possibly be out of context?
• Have I avoided discriminatory language and colloquial expressions (slang)?
• Is my referencing formatted correctly according to my assignment guidelines? (for more information on referencing refer to the Managing Assessment feedback section).

This chapter has examined the experience of writing assignments. It began by focusing on how to read and break down an assignment question, then highlighted the key components of essays. Next, it examined some techniques for paraphrasing and summarising, and how to build an argument. It concluded with a discussion on planning and structuring your assignment and giving it that essential polish with editing and proof-reading. Combining these skills and practising them, can greatly improve your success with this very common form of assessment.

• Academic writing requires clear and logical structure, critical thinking and the use of credible scholarly sources.
• A thesis statement is important as it tells the reader the position or argument you have adopted in your assignment. Not all assignments will require a thesis statement.
• Spending time analysing your task and planning your structure before you start to write your assignment is time well spent.
• Information you use in your assignment should come from credible scholarly sources such as textbooks and peer reviewed journals. This information needs to be paraphrased and referenced appropriately.
• Paraphrasing means putting something into your own words and synthesising means to bring together several ideas from sources.
• Creating an argument is a four step process and can be applied to all types of academic writing.
• Editing and proofreading are two separate processes.

Academic Skills Centre. (2013). Writing an introduction and conclusion . University of Canberra, accessed 13 August, 2013, www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions

Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2016). Procrastination, self-regulation failure, academic life satisfaction, and affective well-being: underregulation or misregulation form. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31 (3), 439-459.

Custer, N. (2018). Test anxiety and academic procrastination among prelicensure nursing students. Nursing education perspectives, 39 (3), 162-163.

Yerdelen, S., McCaffrey, A., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Longitudinal examination of procrastination and anxiety, and their relation to self-efficacy for self-regulated learning: Latent growth curve modeling. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16 (1).

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ACCA P7 Chapter 4 Practice Management

ACCA P7 lectures Download P7 notes

Quality control

Quality control policies and procedures are defined as those ‘designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the appropriateness of the auditors’ report and of adherence to Auditing Standards, ethical and other requirements’.

ACCA P7 Lecture Index

1 Rules of Professional Conduct 2 Professional Responsibility and Liability 3 Regulatory Environment 4 Practice Management 5 Audit Process 6 Evidence 7 Evaluation and Review 8 Audit of Financial Statements 9 Group Audits 10 The external audit report 11 Audit Related Services (Non Audit Services) 12 Assurance Services 13 Prospective Financial Information (PFI) 14 Internal Audit 15 Outsourced Finance and Accounting Functions 16 Social and Environmental Audits

Firms should establish and communicate to audit engagement partners and audit staff quality control policies and procedures. This will involve the establishment of an appropriate structure within the firm, including the appointment of a senior audit partner to take responsibility for these matters.

The key roles within the firm:

Acceptance and retention of engagements

Before accepting a new audit engagement firms should ensure that they:

Are competent to undertake the work.

Consider carefully whether there are threats to their independence and objectivity and, if so, whether adequate safeguards can be established.

Assess the integrity of the owners, directors and management of the entity, and

Comply with the ethical requirements of the professional accountancy bodies in relation to changes in appointment.

Firms should also ensure that they reconsider these matters when deciding whether they are willing to continue in office as auditors.

Firms should have sufficient engagement partners and audit staff with the competencies necessary to meet their needs.

Competencies

Competencies are developed through:

Professional education and development (including technical and management training, in-house courses and external training).

Work experience and coaching by other members of the audit team.

Assignment of personnel to engagements

An audit engagement partner should be appointed to each audit engagement undertaken by a firm, to take responsibility for the engagement on behalf of the firm.

Firms should assign audit staff with the competencies necessary to perform the audit work expected of them.

Competencies to be considered include:

Understanding and practical experience of auditing.

Understanding applicable accounting, auditing, ethical and other technical standards.

Knowledge of specific industries.

Professional judgement.

Understanding the firm’s quality control policies and procedures.

Consultation

Firms should establish procedures to facilitate consultation and to ensure that sufficient resources are available to enable appropriate consultation to take place in relation to difficult or contentious matters.

The results of consultation that are relevant to audit conclusions should be documented.

Consultation on technical matters may amount to a simple request for advice from a technical department or from an expert within the firm.

The procedures are designed to ensure that individuals of appropriate seniority and experience are consulted on all difficult or contentious issues and that the results of consultations relevant to audit conclusions are properly documented.

Direction, supervision and review

Audit engagement partners should ensure that audit work is directed, supervised and reviewed in a manner which provides reasonable assurance that the work has been performed competently.

Audit planning is an important means of providing direction to audit staff.

Supervision includes:

Both direction and review.

Monitoring the progress of the audit to consider whether:

assistants have the necessary skills, plus competence to carry out the assigned tasks

assistants understand the audit directions; and

the work is being carried out in accordance with the overall audit plan and the audit program.

Addressing significant accounting and auditing questions raised during the audit, assessing their significance and modifying the overall audit plan and audit programme as appropriate; and

resolving any differences of professional judgement between personnel and considering the level of consultation that is appropriate.

Work performed by staff is reviewed by more senior staff or the audit engagement partner.

Independent review

Firms should ensure that an independent review is undertaken for all audit engagements where the audited entity is a listed entity. In addition, firms should establish policies setting out the circumstances in which an independent review should be performed for other audit engagements, whether on the grounds of the public interest or audit risk.

The independent review should take place before the issue of the auditors’ report in order to provide an objective, independent assessment of the quality of the audit.

Firms should appoint a senior audit partner to take responsibility for monitoring the quality of audits carried out by the firm.

The objective of monitoring reviews is to provide an independent assessment of:

The appropriateness of the auditors’ report and the conduct of the audit in accordance with Auditing Standards, ethical and other regulatory requirements.

Whether the firm’s quality control policies and procedures have been applied in practice and appropriate consultation has taken place in relation to difficult or contentious issues.

Advertising, publicity and obtaining professional work

The Rules of Professional Conduct give guidance in relation to the above.

Audit firms are allowed to advertise. The following considerations should be borne in mind when preparing advertisements or promotional material.

They should not bring discredit to the audit firm, the member or the profession in general.

They should not discredit the service offered by other firms.

Care should be taken to ensure that any reference to fees does not mislead the reader as to the precise range of services and time commitment that the reference is intended to cover.

In the UK, the material should comply with the requirements of the British Code of Advertising Practice and the IBA Code of Advertising Standards and Practice, as to legality, decency, clarity, honesty and truthfulness.

The Rules of Professional Conduct state that fees should be fair and reasonable.

They recommend that the basis of charging fees should be mentioned in the engagement letter.

Fees should not be charged on a contingency, percentage or similar basis except where that course of action is generally accepted practice for certain specialised work.

Fee disputes may arise when the client believes that the fee charged is excessive. If a firm is about to issue a fee note which is higher than previous fees, it is good practice to explain the reasons for the variation to the client concerned.

This refers to the practice of setting the initial audit fee low in order to win the client’s business.

Explain the ethical implications of the following two practices in relation to fees.

(a) Fixed fees

(b) Lowballing

Tendering introduction

when an audit firm is approached by a prospective client, it must first decide whether the accounting framework in use is acceptable

in addition, the firm is faced with two initial questions:

does the firm want the work?

does the firm think they will get a reasonable fee for a quality job?

the risk attaching to the client must be considered. The audit firm would wish to consider the following:

How has the approach arisen?

Why has the firm been asked? Is it due to their reputation, a recommendation from a mutual contact or is the entity unhappy with the current fees?

What it is being asked to do?

What is the risk in getting involved?

Can the firm afford to spend time on the proposal?

What work would you perform in order to assess the risk attaching to a prospective client?

Can the firm do the work for a reasonable fee?

The firm will need to consider the amount of work required, resources available and the location of the client.

A preliminary estimate of the fee should establish if the return is likely to be acceptable.

Content of the proposal document

The basic format of the proposal will depend on the circumstances and the prospective client’s requirements. The main objective is to convince the client to appoint the audit firm. The firm will therefore want to demonstrate that it has understood the unique features and requirements of the business and considered how best it can meet those.

The following matters will usually need to be covered:

The fee and details of how it has been calculated;

An assessment of the requirements of the prospective client;

An outline of how the firm proposes to address those requirements for the fee;

The assumptions made, for example regarding deadlines or availability of information;

The proposed approach to the engagement;

An outline of the firm and the staff involved.

Terms of audit engagements

The auditors and the client should agree on the terms of the engagement. This should be recorded in writing.

Once the terms of the engagement have been agreed, they will remain in force from one year to the next unless they are replaced. Auditors should regularly review the terms of the engagement to ensure they are appropriate.

The engagement letter documents and confirms the auditors’ acceptance of the appointment, and includes a summary of the responsibilities of the directors and the auditors, the scope of the engagement and the form of any reports.

Descriptions of practising firms

A firm may describe itself as a firm of “Chartered Certified Accountants” or “Certified Accountants” only where:

at least half of the partners are ACCA members; and

these partners control at least 51% of the voting rights under the firm’s partnership agreements.

Firms holding an auditing practising certificate issued by the ACCA may describe themselves as “Registered Auditors”.

A practice name should be consistent with the dignity of the profession in the sense that it should not project an image inconsistent with that of a professional bound by high ethical and technical standards.

Reader Interactions

May 18, 2017 at 1:29 am

I love your sense of humor. Thank you for this, really helpful.

April 24, 2017 at 9:32 am

Uzbekistan has a border with Kazakhstan which in turn has access to Caspian sea

April 24, 2017 at 10:21 am

But the Caspian Sea is an inland stretch of water, not connected with the world’s oceans

You may as well claim that Liechtenstein has a border with Austria and the River Danube connects Austria to the Black sea and that, in turn, is connected via the Bosphorus through the Straits of Marmara to the Mediterranean and thence to the Atlantic!

Talk to the Uzbeks, as I have done, and you will see that they claim double land-lockability!

February 26, 2017 at 3:47 am

“As exciting as being the Admiral of the Uzbekistan Navy” 🙂 Good one!

September 30, 2016 at 2:46 pm

Its pretty awesome.thanks lots very helpful stuff here.

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