General Comments

Candidates and tutors need to be aware of current developments in the field.Two such areas in P7 were candidates appear to be referring to out-of-date standards are those on revenue recognition and auditor’s reports.

It is also important to consider at which stage of the audit process a scenario is occurring.At the planning phase of an audit the auditor’s report outcome is unlikely to be a discussion point.At completion there may be a requirement for additional procedures to occur,but this is not generally something that occurs at the reporting stage when candidates are told the testing is complete and concluded on correctly.

Q1

Set at the planning stage of the audit cycle and was set pre-year end.Candidates needed to identify and explain business risks and risks of material misstatement.

Q2

This question focused on matters and evidence and was set at the completion stage of the audit（similar to Q4 sample March/June 2017）。

Q3

The question covered due diligence where a separate team from the firm were working on due diligence at an audit client.

Q4

Ethical and professional issues were looked at here（similar to Q4 sample in September/December 2015 exam）。

Q5

The focus here was on going concern and the adequacy of evidence.Candidates were asked to critically appraise an auditor’s report（see Q5 sample March/June 2017）。