SBL Organisational control and audit

ACCA · Strategic Professional · 8 questions

Name: ____________________ Date: ____________

Which of these is a detective control?
- A Segregation of duties
- B Password access to the system
- C Bank reconciliation
- D Authorisation limits for purchases
Segregation of duties is mainly designed to:
- A Reduce the number of staff
- B Reduce the opportunity for error and fraud by one person
- C Speed up processing
- D Replace supervision
The key difference between internal and external audit is that internal audit:
- A Gives an opinion to shareholders on financial statements
- B Is independent of the entity by law
- C Reports to management or the audit committee and covers more than financial statements
- D Is only done by regulators
An outsourcing of the internal audit function means the company should:
- A Treat it as no longer subject to governance
- B Stop reporting to the audit committee
- C Retain responsibility for the function and monitor the provider
- D Use the same firm as external auditor in all cases
Which of the following is an advantage of an internal control framework such as COSO?
- A It reduces the number of risks
- B It gives a structured way to design and assess controls
- C It guarantees that no fraud occurs
- D It removes the need for audit
Management override of controls is a particular fraud risk because:
- A Senior people are able to bypass controls that apply to others
- B Staff have no authority
- C It cannot be audited
- D Controls always fail
A fraud triangle consists of:
- A Opportunity, pressure and rationalisation
- B Detection, deterrence and punishment
- C Revenue, expense and profit
- D Cost, quality and time
Which statement about whistleblowing arrangements is correct?
- A They replace internal audit
- B They apply only to external parties
- C They are only needed in small companies
- D They give staff a safe channel to report concerns and help to detect problems early

Answer key

1. C, 2. B, 3. C, 4. C, 5. B, 6. A, 7. A, 8. D

Detective controls find errors or problems after they occur. The others aim to prevent them.
Separating authorising, recording and custody means that one person cannot commit and hide an irregularity alone.
External audit gives an opinion to shareholders. Internal audit's scope is set by the entity and includes risk, control and governance.
Outsourcing transfers the work, not the responsibility for oversight.
A framework provides components, such as control environment, risk assessment and monitoring, against which controls are designed and evaluated.
Management can circumvent controls and so the risk is considered in every audit.
The three conditions that often exist where fraud occurs are pressure (incentive), opportunity and rationalisation.
An effective policy protects the person reporting and routes concerns to a senior independent person.