Audit supervisors lead the transition from strategic audit objectives to practical field execution by defining scope, assessing risk, and allocating resources. Effective planning strengthens audit quality by aligning objectives, methodology, staffing, and documentation to reduce audit risk to an acceptable level.
Key Insights
- Job planning requires risk-based scoping, setting objectives, and assigning qualified staff to ensure the audit focuses on high‑risk areas.
- Audit planning standards emphasize documenting objectives, scope, methodology, staffing, and timelines to support sufficient and appropriate evidence gathering.
- The planning process involves iterative steps that define audit goals, establish methodology, determine resource needs, and produce a written audit plan.
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Job planning is a foundational responsibility for an audit supervisor. It serves as the critical bridge between audit strategy and field execution, connecting the high-level goals of an engagement to the day-to-day work of the audit team.
The supervisor is responsible for scoping engagements, identifying key risks, and developing tailored audit programs that ensure both efficiency and compliance with professional standards. By defining objectives, allocating staff based on competency, and setting time budgets, the supervisor directs the team toward high-risk areas. This maximizes audit quality while reducing unnecessary work.
Job planning also involves establishing clear communication channels with client management and reviewing prior year work papers to identify potential issues before fieldwork begins.
Key Aspects of Job Planning
- Risk-based scoping: Defining the objective, scope, and timing of the audit based on a thorough risk assessment.
- Resource allocation: Assigning tasks to staff, determining staffing budgets, and ensuring that appropriate skill levels are applied to each area of the engagement.
- Program development: Creating or reviewing detailed audit procedures and testing methodologies.
- Client coordination: Meeting with client personnel to establish timelines and manage expectations.
Audit Planning: GAGAS Fieldwork Standard Number One
GAGAS fieldwork standard number one requires that auditors adequately plan the work necessary to address the audit objectives, and that they document the audit plan (GAGAS paragraph 8.03).
More specifically, auditors must:
- Plan the audit to reduce audit risk to an acceptably low level
- Assess the significance of audit risk
- Apply those assessments to establish the scope and methodology for addressing the audit objectives
- Design the methodology to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence
- Identify and use suitable criteria based on the audit objectives
- Assign staff with appropriate skills and knowledge for the engagement
- Provide for on-the-job training (OJT) where applicable
- Document the plan in writing
In planning, auditors should define the audit objectives as well as the scope and methodology needed to achieve those objectives.
Steps in Audit Planning
The following steps provide a structured approach to developing an audit plan:
- Determine what the audit is to accomplish
- Formulate objectives for the audit
- Select audit scope and methodology
- Determine staff and other resource needs
- Set fieldwork and reporting milestones
- Secure approval of the plan
- Prepare a written audit plan
It is worth noting that the first five steps are iterative. As new information emerges during planning, earlier decisions about scope, methodology, or resources may need to be revisited and adjusted. Different audit organizations may also use a different sequence of steps; these seven steps serve as a common frame of reference rather than a prescriptive requirement.
The Product of a Performance Audit
The end product of a performance audit is a report that presents the auditor's information in the form of findings, along with conclusions and recommendations as appropriate. Keeping this end product in mind during the planning phase helps the supervisor ensure that the audit program is designed to gather the evidence needed to support well-formed findings and actionable conclusions.
