FEATURES OF THIS EDITION

This text includes a variety of features to enhance the learning experience:

Numbered Chapter Objectives provide a concise presentation of each chapter's most important concepts. They are then referenced in the chapter when the concept is introduced.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the resulting Public Company Accounting Oversight Board profoundly affect public accountants, their CPA firms, and their clients. Most notably, the public accounting profession is no longer largely self-regulating. CPAs must issue a publicly available report upon the internal control of each publicly traded client, and top management must certify its financial statements and provide an assessment of internal control over financial reporting. The text carefully integrates coverage of the Act's nature and effects on the profession in selected chapters. Also included is coverage of financial frauds, such as those involving Enron and WorldCom that led to passage of the Act.

Keystone Computers and Networks, Inc. is the text's Illustrative Audit Case . This feature illustrates audit methods and provides realistic, thought-provoking case exercises. Although each portion of the case is designed to stand alone, if used in combination, the case will help the student develop problem-solving skills in planning (Chapter 6), considering internal control and testing account balances (Chapters 11 and 14), and completing the audit (Chapter 16). The case incorporates the use of computerized accounting applications and also integrates the fundamentals of audit sampling from Chapter 9.

Internet assignments are included among the end-of-chapter problem material for selected chapters. These assignments require students to use the Internet to do audit research and are identified with a WWW logo in the margin.

Website, www.mhhe.com/whittington15e provides links to various sites referred to in the text and updates that reflect changes in auditing standards that have occurred subsequent to publication of the text. The site also includes a multiple-choice quiz and solutions for each chapter to allow students to measure their mastery of key concepts.

Illustrative Cases use actual business and accounting examples to illustrate key chapter concepts. The cases are boxed and appear throughout the text. New cases have been added for recent alleged audit failures.

Industry Focus Cases , use examples from specific industries to provide students with detailed and "real world" illustration of points being emphasized in the text. These cases show the importance of having a thorough knowledge of the audit client's business and industry. Like the illustrative cases, these cases are boxed and appear throughout the text.

Illustrative Documents , included in the various procedural chapters (10 through 16), provide concise, realistic examples of the documents associated with the various transaction cycles.

International Auditing Standards are discussed as appropriate. These standards are becoming increasingly significant with the development of international markets for securities.

Key Terms Introduced or Emphasized is a glossary of each chapter's most important terms. The terms are boldface within the chapter and are defined at the end of the chapter. Placing the definitions at the end of each chapter allows the student to quickly find the meaning of unfamiliar terms while reading the material. The glossary also serves as an excellent review tool and helps the student see how well he or she understands the major ideas presented.

Illustrations, Tables , and Flowcharts are used throughout to enhance and clarify the presentation. Chapter Summaries recap the most important information presented in the chapter.

END-OF-CHAPTER PROBLEM MATERIAL

The questions, problems, case material, and audit case exercises at the end of each chapter are divided as follows: Review Questions; Questions Requiring Analysis; Multiple Choice Questions; Problems; In-Class Team Exercises; Ethics Cases; Research and Discussion Cases; and Audit Case Exercises.

Review Questions

The Review Questions are closely related to the material in the chapter and provide a convenient means of determining whether students have grasped the major concepts and details contained in that chapter.

Questions Requiring Analysis

The Questions Requiring Analysis require thoughtful consideration of a realistic auditing situation and the application of professional standards. A number of these questions are taken from CPA and CIA examinations, and others describe actual practice situations. These questions, which are generally shorter than the problems, tend to stress value judgments and conflicting opinions.

Multiple Choice Questions

In this edition we have highlighted Multiple Choice Questions by grouping them in a separate section. Many of these questions are drawn from CPA and CIA exams.

Problems

Many of the Problems are drawn from CPA and CIA examinations. In selecting these problems, consideration was given to ones appearing in recent professional exams. However, older questions are included when they are superior to others available.

In-Class Team Cases

These cases new to this edition, are meant to be solved in class either by teams of students, or if the instructor prefers, by individuals. They help provide the student with an active learning environment to apply key concepts included in each chapter.

IN-CLASS Ethics Cases

In-Class Ethics Cases, allow the instructor to discuss ethical issues in an integrated manner throughout the course. The cases present a series of situations which result in ethical dilemmas of the type that beginning accountants may expect to encounter in practice. These cases are included in selected chapters

Research and Discussion Cases

These cases involve controversial situations that do not lend themselves to clear-cut answers. Students are required to research appropriate professional literature and to then apply critical thinking skills to logically formulate and justify their personal positions on the issues involved in each case. The cases acquaint students with the professional literature, develop research and communication skills, and demonstrate that several diverse, yet defensible, positions may be argued persuasively in a given situation.

Audit Case Exercises

These exercises all pertain to the text's updated continuing integrated case, Keystone Computers and Networks, Inc. While each exercise may "stand alone," when used in combination, these case exercises take the student from the original planning of an audit through testing of controls, substantive testing, and accumulation and analysis of uncorrected misstatements. Exercises are included in Chapters 6, 11, 14 and 16. Spreadsheet templates are available on the website to be used in conjunction with selected audit case exercises. The exercises with templates are identified by a floppy disk logo in the margin.