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Copyright 2014 Pearson Education 7-1 Chapter 7 Nature and Type of Audit Evidence  Review Questions 7-1 In both a legal case and in an audit of financial statements, evidence is used by an unbiased person to draw conclusions. In addition, the consequences of an incorrect decision in both situations can be equally undesirable. For example, if a guilty person is set free, society may be in danger if the person repeats his or her illegal act. Similarly, if investors rely on materially misstated financial statements, they could lose significant amounts of money. Finally, the guilt of a defendant in a legal case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This is similar to the concept of sufficient appropriate evidence in an audit situation. As with a judge or jury, an auditor cannot be completely convinced that his or her opinion is correct, but rather must obtain a high level of assurance. The nature of evidence in a legal case and in an audit of financial statements differs because a legal case relies heavily on testimony by witnesses and other parties involved. While inquiry is a of evidence used by auditors, other more reliable types of evidence such as confirmation with third parties, physical examination, and inspection are also used extensively. A legal case also differs from an audit because of the nature of the conclusions made. In a legal case, a judge or jury decides the guilt or innocence of the defendant. In an audit, the auditor issues one of several audit opinions after uating the evidence. 7-2 The four major audit evidence decisions that must be made on every audit are 1. Which audit procedures to use. 2. What sample size to select for a given procedure. 3. Which items to select from the population. 4. When to per the procedure. 7-3 An audit procedure is the detailed instruction for the collection of a type of audit evidence that is to be obtained. Because audit procedures are the instructions to be followed in accumulating evidence, they must be worded carefully to make sure the instructions are clear. 7-4 An audit program for accounts receivable is a list of audit procedures that will be used to audit accounts receivable for a given client. The audit procedures, sample size, items to select, and timing should be included in the audit program.Copyright 2014 Pearson Education 7-2 7-5 There are two primary reasons why the auditor can only be persuaded with a reasonable level of assurance, rather than be convinced that the financial statements are correct 1. The cost of accumulating evidence. It would be extremely costly for the auditor to gather enough evidence to be completely convinced. 2. Evidence is normally not sufficiently reliable to enable the auditor to be completely convinced. For example, confirmations from customers may come back with erroneous ination, which is the fault of the customer rather than the client. 7-6 The two determinants of the persuasiveness of evidence are app