When you are out in the field selecting items to test, it becomes imperative knowing how you are permitted to select items from a population, what you can practically do to accumulate evidence, and what sources you can turn to for audit evidence. ISA 500 addresses these questions.

One way to select items from a population is by sampling. ISA 530 contains appendices and helps you to navigate the various practical ways to select items, it helps you understand how to determine if you have enough samples and what happens when you find misstatements in your selected sample batch.

Session 6 will focus on:
• ISA 500: Audit Evidence
• ISA 530: Audit Sampling
Fundamentally the session will focus on execution and the considerations thereto, with the view to:
• Simplifying the relevant standards,
• Highlighting key elements and
• Providing action points
ISA 500 Audit Evidence will be simplified relative to the following aspects:
• Sufficiency, reliability, appropriateness and relevance of audit evidence
• Reliance on experts and on client information
• How to practically gather evidence
• How to make selections of items to test within a population
• Inconsistent evidence
ISA 530 Audit Sampling will be simplified relative to the following aspects:
• Sample design, size and selection of items
• Nature, cause and implication of deviations / misstatements from sample
• Evaluating results of sampling
• Appendices looking at various sampling techniques / concepts
• Illustrative examples of sampling templates