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CA Intermediate · Auditing and Ethics · Audit Documentation

After the audit report on Sagar Foods Ltd. was signed, the audit team found that a working paper on inventory observation had a typographical error in the count sheet reference. The senior wants to replace the page with a corrected one and discard the old page. What is the correct response under SA 230?

The auditor must keep the original page. Any later addition or amendment is allowed only if the reasons, the date, the person making it and the reviewer are documented, without deleting existing documentation. After final assembly, discarding documentation before the retention period ends is not permitted under SA 230.

  1. AReplace the page and destroy the original, since the file is final
  2. BMake no change, because no change to documentation is allowed after the report date under any circumstances
  3. CRetain the original; any addition made after file assembly must record when, by whom and the reasons, and the reviewer, without deleting old documentationCorrect
  4. DAsk the client's management to correct the working paper

Explanation

Under SA 230, after the assembly of the final file the auditor shall not delete or discard documentation before the end of its retention period. If circumstances require modification or addition, the auditor documents the specific reasons, when and by whom made, and who reviewed them. Destroying the original is not allowed, and prohibiting all changes is incorrect.

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