ISA 200 — Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with International Standards on Auditing

ISA 200 DEALS with the Independent Auditor’s overall responsibilities when conducting an ‘Audit‘ of Financial Statements in accordance with ISAs.

ISA 200 – Introduction

1. Scope of this ISA

It sets out the OVERALL objectives of the Independent Auditor, and explains the Nature and Scope of an audit designed to enable MEET those objectives.

The Independent Auditor is referred to as the ‘auditor‘ hereafter.

2. Effective Date

This ISA is EFFECTIVE for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2009.

ISA 200 – Overall Objectives of the Auditor

In conducting an AUDIT of Financial Statements, the overall Objectives of the ‘Auditor’ are:

To OBTAIN reasonable assurance, about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from Material Misstatement, whether due to Fraud or Error, thereby ENABLING the auditor to EXPRESS an opinion on whether the financial statements are prepared in all Material respects in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework; AND
To REPORT on the financial statements, and COMMUNICATE as required by the ISAs, in accordance with the auditor’s findings.

ISA 200 – Definitions

1. Audit Evidence

Information used by the AUDITOR in arriving at the conclusions on which the auditor’s opinion is based.

2. Auditor

The person or persons CONDUCTING the audit, usually the engagement partner or other Members of the engagement team or as applicable the firm.

3. Professional Judgment

The APPLICATION of relevant training, knowledge and experience during the course of the audit engagement.

4. Professional Skepticism

An ATTITUDE that includes a ‘Questioning Mind’, being alert to conditions which May indicate possible misstatement due to ERROR or FRAUD and a critical assessment of the audit evidence.

ISA 200 – Requirements

1. Ethical Requirements Relating to an Audit of Financial Statements

The auditor shall COMPLY with relevant ethical Requirements, including those pertaining to independence, relating to Financial Statement audit engagements.

2. Professional Skepticism

The auditor shall PLAN and PERFORM an audit with professional skepticism recognizing that circumstances May exist that cause the Financial Statements to be Materially Misstated.

3. Professional Judgment

The auditor shall EXERCISE ‘Professional Judgment’ in planning and performing an audit of Financial Statements.

4. Sufficient Appropriate Audit Evidence and Audit Risk

To obtain ‘Reasonable Assurance’, the auditor shall OBTAIN sufficient appropriate audit evidence to reduce audit risk to an acceptably low level, and thereby ENABLE the auditor to draw reasonable conclusions on which to base the auditor’s opinion.

5. Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with ISAs

5.1 Complying with ISAs Relevant to the Audit

The auditor shall COMPLY with all ISAs relevant to the audit.

The auditor shall have an UNDERSTANDING of the entire text of an ISA, including its application and other explanatory Material.

The auditor shall NOT REPRESENT compliance with ISAs in the auditor’s report unless, the auditor has complied with the Requirements of this ISA and all other ISAs relevant to the audit.

5.2 Objectives Stated in Individual ISAs

The auditor shall USE the objectives stated in relevant ISAs to:

DETERMINE whether any audit procedures in addition to those required by the ISAs are necessary; AND
EVALUATE whether sufficient appropriate audit evidence has been obtained.

5.3 Complying with Relevant Requirements

The auditor shall COMPLY with each Requirement of an ISA, unless in the circumstances of the audit:

The entire ISA is not relevant; OR
The Requirement is not relevant because it is conditional and the condition does not exist.

5.4 Failure to Achieve an Objective

If an objective in a relevant ISA cannot be achieved, the auditor shall EVALUATE whether this prevents the auditor from achieving the overall objectives of the auditor, and thereby requires the auditor to MODIFY the auditor’s opinion or WITHDRAW from the engagement.

Failure to achieve an objective represents a ‘SIGNIFICANT MATTER’ requiring documentation in accordance with ISA 230.

Synopsis

The International Standard on Auditing ISA 200 ‘Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with International Standards on Auditing‘ DEALS with the Independent Auditor’s overall responsibility when conducting an ‘Audit‘ of Financial Statements in accordance with ISAs.

[200-299] General Principles and Responsibilities