Audit Programme

Definition. An Audit Programme is a written scheme, prepared in advance by the auditor, that lays down in detail the exact audit procedures to be applied to a particular business, and specifies which member of the audit team is to perform which part of the work, within what time frame.

Objectives:

• To ensure equitable and systematic distribution of work among the audit staff, according to their competence and experience.
• To fix responsibility on each assistant for the specific work assigned to them.
• To secure uniformity of approach when more than one person is involved in the audit.
• To act as a means of controlling and instructing the audit staff, and of supervising their progress.
• To provide documentary evidence that the audit was carried out systematically, which can be useful if the auditor's conduct is later questioned.

Features:

1. It is a written document, not merely a set of verbal instructions.
2. It is prepared in advance, before the actual detailed checking begins.
3. It covers the entire audit, unit by unit or area by area (e.g. cash, purchases, sales, fixed assets).
4. It specifies the exact procedures and the sequence in which work is to be performed.
5. It assigns duties to named members of the audit team.
6. It should be flexible enough to be revised as circumstances require, rather than rigidly fixed.

Advantages:

1. Ensures division of labour based on each assistant's ability and experience.
2. Fixes responsibility clearly — if some work is omitted or done carelessly, the audit programme identifies who was responsible for it.
3. Provides a uniform basis of work when the audit is spread across several assistants or several periods.
4. Makes supervision and review by the senior auditor/partner easier, since progress can be checked against the plan.
5. Serves as evidence of the work actually performed, useful in defending the auditor's conduct if negligence is alleged later.
6. Provides continuity — if a staff member leaves mid-audit or in a subsequent year, a new assistant can pick up the programme and understand what has been done and what remains.

Limitations (disadvantages):

1. It can make the work mechanical and rigid — assistants may simply follow the programme step by step without applying independent judgment to unusual matters they notice.
2. A standard programme may not fit every business exactly — a programme designed for one client's circumstances may need real revision before being reused for a different client.
3. Efficient and capable staff may find a detailed, fixed programme monotonous and restrictive of their own initiative. …