This course examines the practice of auditing, the underlying concepts, auditors' responsibilities, and the audit environment. Although the focus of attention is on audits carried out under the provisions of the Corporations Law, reference is also made to other assurance and related non-assurance services. The course is intended to provide an overview of the audit process as it exists in Australia and internationally.

The focus of the course is on both the conduct of the audit (as an auditor) and interaction with the audit function (as a member of the business community). Topics include: the risk-based auditing approach; assessment of risk; development of audit strategy, internal control evaluation and controls testing; substantive testing; analytical review; auditing in an IT dominated and data rich environment; audit sampling; audit reporting; contractual and common law duties; the critical role of ethics; and an introduction to other assurance and related non-assurance services.

This course is offered by the School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation as part of the Master of Professional Accounting Degree. In order to enrol in this course, you must have passed ACCT5930 and ACCT5942. You will also find it useful to have studied (or are currently studying) ACCT5943.

Approach to Learning and Teaching in this course

This course is presented in a face-to-face study mode. Enrolment in a face-to-face class indicates a commitment and capacity to attend the weekly seminars on the Kensington Campus.

At university, the focus is your self-directed search for knowledge. Seminars, textbooks and other resources are all provided to help you learn. You are therefore required to attend all seminars and read all required readings in order to fully grasp and appreciate the concepts of Auditing and Assurance Services.

It is up to you to choose how much work you do in each part of the course: preparing for seminars; completing assessments; studying for exams; and seeking assistance or extra work to extend and clarify your understanding. You must choose an approach that best suits your learning style and goals in this course. Seminar exercises as well as case studies are provided to guide your learning process.

You are reminded that this is a challenging course (and the intensive nature of the presentation mode over Summer makes this even more so). Not keeping up to date with the material in the course has, in the past, been identified as a common reason for not achieving a passing grade in the course. This course lends itself to a sustained effort throughout the entire term rather than intense periods of 'cramming' prior to assessment tasks.

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

Instruction in this course consists of two, three hour seminars each week.

Many years of experience, across all types of students, and across different institutions, highlights that the most effective way to become proficient in auditing is to learn by doing (i.e., experiential learning). The course has been designed with this in mind. In seminars, you will be discussing aspects of auditing, working through questions and/or cases, and actually undertaking audit work.

The first two seminars will introduce foundation audit knowledge. An understanding of this material is critically important, in that you will be building on this foundation knowledge in subsequent seminars. You will be expected to complete all readings prior to class, have watched the videos set for each topic and be prepared to contribute to discussion in class. An extensive lecture slide package is provided for each topic. The seminars constitute the core learning experience of this course. During seminars, you will be required to discuss various aspects of the audit process in a collaborative environment, you may be asked to present your views to the class, as well as applying your knowledge to specific audit issues and situations via case studies and exercises.

Your performance in this course is certainly facilitated by active participation and engagement with the material, and you are strongly encouraged to do so, as the seminar discussion is most effective and engaging when those participating are willing to be part of this collaborative learning environment. The material for each seminar will be made available on Moodle.

Self study
Self-study is a key element of the learning design of this course. Self-study materials include the textbook, auditing standards and the case studies. The aim of this material is to encourage students to assume responsibility in the learning process and to make the seminars more effective. Thus, onus is on students to review and complete these materials. Individual consultation is available should you encounter any difficulty with the course material. You are reminded, however, that consultation is a complement to, rather than a substitute for, engagement with the other learning and teaching activities.

As a student at UNSW you are expected to display academic integrity in your work and interactions. Where a student breaches the UNSW Student Code with respect to academic integrity, the University may take disciplinary action under the Student Misconduct Procedure. To assure academic integrity, you may be required to demonstrate reasoning, research and the process of constructing work submitted for assessment.

To assist you in understanding what academic integrity means, and how to ensure that you do comply with the UNSW Student Code, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Working with Academic Integrity module before submitting your first assessment task. It is a free, online self-paced Moodle module that should take about one hour to complete.

You are expected to complete all assessment tasks for your courses in the School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation. In some courses, there will be a minimum pass mark required on the final exam due to the need to assure individual mastery of specific course learning outcomes for accounting accreditation requirements.  Where applicable this is explained in the assessment information below.

This course will have an invigilated face-to-face exam held on UNSW’s Kensington campus. The exam script will be paper based. 

In order to pass this course, you must:

• achieve a composite mark of at least 50 out of 100;
• meet any additional requirements described in the Assessment Summary section.

You are expected to attempt all assessment requirements in the course.

Note: for more information on the UNSW academic calendar and key dates including study period, exam, supplementary exam and result release, please visit: https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/calendar

The website for this course is on UNSW Moodle.

Gay, Simnett, Hofmann, Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia, McGraw-Hill, 8th edition, 2023.

Please note that the latest 8th Edition of the textbook provides the most contemporary coverage of the material that we will cover in this course.

They may be downloaded (free of charge) from the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board website (www.auasb.gov.au).

Note: Photocopied textbooks are in breach of copyright law and students will be asked to remove them from the seminar.

Feedback is regularly sought from students and continual improvements are made based on this feedback. At the end of this course, you will be asked to complete the myExperience survey , which provides a key source of student evaluative feedback. Your input into this quality enhancement process is extremely valuable in assisting us to meet the needs of our students and provide an effective and enriching learning experience. The results of all surveys are carefully considered and do lead to action towards enhancing educational quality.