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ACCA Strategic Professional · Advanced Audit and Assurance (International) · Using the work of others

Kestrel Foods Ltd has an internal audit department. The external auditor, Marlow & Co, is planning the audit and is considering using the work of the internal auditors. Under ISA 610 (Revised 2013), which of the following is the correct statement about the responsibility for the audit opinion?

The external auditor has sole responsibility for the audit opinion. Using the work of internal auditors does not reduce that responsibility, so it is neither shared nor transferred, and the auditor's report should not refer to the internal auditors' work in a way that implies otherwise.

  1. AResponsibility is shared with the internal auditors to the extent their work is used
  2. BThe external auditor remains solely responsible for the audit opinion, even if internal audit work is usedCorrect
  3. CResponsibility passes to the internal audit function for the areas where its work is relied on
  4. DResponsibility can be reduced by referring to the internal auditors' work in the auditor's report

Explanation

ISA 610 states the external auditor has sole responsibility for the audit opinion expressed, and that responsibility is not reduced by using internal audit work. Hence sharing or transferring responsibility is wrong, and referring to internal audit's work in the report would imply reduced responsibility, which is not permitted unless required by law or regulation.

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