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.
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.
CPA Exam simulations: The Auditing and Attestation section of
the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Exam represents 4½ hours of the
14-hour CPA examination. It ordinarily consists of multiple choice questions and
two condensed case studies referred to as simulations. To better prepare students
for the exam, our text now includes:
- Four interrelated simulations included in the text problem material: These simulations
are comparable in requirements to that provided by the AICPA and are included
in the text itself. They are included in chapters 10, 11, 12 and 14.
- Three additional inter-related simulations on the text's website: Two of the
simulations are available to students, and all three to instructors. Because they
are MS Excel based, they do not require the extensive computer downloads necessary
for the AICPA simulation.
- More multiple choice questions: The importance of multiple choice questions
on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Exam has led us to double the number
of multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter.
- Kaplan Schweser simulations: Appendix I includes simulations from the Kaplan Schweser CPA exam.
Updated compliance auditing coverage: Chapter 21 coverage of
compliance auditing is updated using the input of Mr. Norwood J. Jackson, retired
KPMG partner, formerly a member of the Auditing Standards Board and the Deputy
Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, United States Office of Management
and Budget.
Fraud: Because fraud is such an important aspect, we've included
a logo wherever we have significant coverage of this essential topic.
Possible second semester coverage : The great volume of coverage
included in the text makes it ideal as the basis for not only a basic auditing
course, but also for a major portion of a second semester (or quarter) course
included in either a four or five year program.
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, 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.
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2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education