R 205.2004 Due professional care for field audits.

Rule 4. (1) Auditors must exercise due professional care in the performance of the field audit and the preparation of the audit report. Due professional care requires auditors to plan and perform the audit observing field audit standards. Field audit standards include all of the following: (a) Adequately planning the audit and supervising assistants. (b) Obtaining a sufficient understanding of the audited person and internal controls that are significant within the audit objectives. (c) Obtaining sufficient evidence to support the auditor’s findings and conclusions. (2) Auditors should possess the skills commonly possessed by other auditors and exercise those skills with reasonable care and diligence. (3) The lead auditor shall assign tasks and supervise assistants. (a) Auditors should be assigned to tasks and supervised commensurate with their level of knowledge, skill, and ability so that they can evaluate the audit evidence they are examining. (b) The lead auditor shall know the relevant auditing standards and be knowledgeable of the person being audited. (4) Throughout the field audit, auditors shall exercise professional skepticism when evaluating the competency and sufficiency of the evidence. Professional skepticism requires the auditor to have a questioning mind and the ability to make a critical assessment of the evidence. (5) Auditors shall diligently, in good faith and with integrity, gather evidence for objective evaluation. (6) When evaluating the quality of information provided by the audited person, auditors shall recognize that the information should not be accepted without some basis for reliance. Auditors should seek to verify the accuracy of the audited person’s assertions. (7) Failure of the audited person to provide requested evidence shall not reflect on the due professional care of the auditor.