NOTE:
This tool has now been replaced by a built-in sampling tool (see article).
A cumulative monetary sample is a great way to ensure that all material items are selected (subject to confidence level adjustments) plus providing a chance for other items to be selected without human bias.
Within Audit Assistant, we have a tool to calculate the sample size, interval and random starting point. Our goal is to integrate a data analysis tool into Audit Assistant, but for now we have developed an Excel* tool that enables a dataset (say a client ledger) to be uploaded and the interval and starting point to be added, with the resulting sample being able to be imported into an Audit Assistant testing table.
- The interval and starting point calculated within Audit Assistant are entered in the yellow fields
- The ledger data is extracted and pasted into the body after being sorted by date and into appropriate columns
- The cumulative total and samples are then automatically generated, as are the green summary boxes (sample size, sample $ and percentage)
- If there are items in the population above the interval, the tool will only include them once, and the sample size will reduce to compensate (for instance, in the example above there would be 20 sample items, however some large items in the sample were selected several times, reducing the overall items to be tested to 14)
- There are several versions available - for expenditure, income, payroll etc. (the difference is that the default columns headings correspond to the data being input)
- The columns within the testing tables and Excel sampling tool may be adjusted if required to fit the format produced by the client
The Excel templates are available free to all Audit Assistant users. They may be downloaded below.
*NOTE: We are aware that Excel has limitations, so although we have protected any vulnerable cells we have not password protected the pages, allowing user updates and changes as required at the users' risk. Our plan going forward is to integrate this testing into Audit Assistant itself in a much more streamlined way - this is an attempt to provide some practical help in the short-term.