How to learn the auditing standards EASILY! 4 top tips!
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Amanda, an experienced auditing lecturer, offers four top tips to demystify the auditing standards for students and professionals. She emphasizes understanding the structure of standards, focusing on objectives, definitions, and requirements, and utilizing explanatory material. Amanda also encourages leveraging existing resources, such as videos and professional guides, and practicing retrieval through note-taking and applying audit concepts to real-life scenarios. Additionally, she provides a template to aid in summarizing and understanding the complexities of audit standards.
Takeaways
- đ Amanda, an experienced auditing educator, introduces a video aimed at demystifying auditing standards for students and professionals.
- đ The video is applicable globally, as it addresses auditing standards from various jurisdictions, including Australia, the US, and international standards (ISAs).
- đ Amanda emphasizes the importance of understanding the structure of auditing standards, which typically include objectives, definitions, and requirements.
- đ The video suggests starting with the objective of a standard to grasp its purpose and then moving on to definitions for clarity on key terms.
- đ Requirements are the explicit rules auditors must follow, and Amanda advises not to skip the explanatory material that provides context and examples.
- đĄ Utilize existing resources like Amanda's videos, professional accounting firm materials, and public accounting association resources to aid understanding.
- đ Amanda recommends retrieval practice, which involves actively recalling information, as a study technique to reinforce learning and prepare for exams.
- đ Creating concept maps can help visualize connections between audit concepts, aiding in the understanding and application of auditing standards.
- đ The video encourages applying audit concepts to everyday scenarios to practice and reinforce learning, fostering a deeper understanding of the material.
- đ Amanda provides a bonus resource, a word document template, to help summarize and analyze auditing standards, focusing on key points and professional judgments.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Amanda's video?
-The main focus of Amanda's video is to help audit students and professionals unlock the secrets to learning auditing standards easily, by providing tips and strategies to understand and navigate through the standards.
Why does Amanda prescribe auditing standards instead of a textbook in her course?
-Amanda prescribes auditing standards instead of a textbook because they are the foundation of auditing and provide the most current and authoritative guidance for auditors, which is essential for students to understand and apply in practice.
What are the four top tips Amanda shares to understand auditing standards?
-Amanda shares four top tips: 1) Unlocking the structure of the audit standards, 2) Understanding the importance of definitions, 3) Utilizing explanatory and application material, 4) Taking advantage of existing resources and practicing retrieval.
How does Amanda suggest students approach the 'requirements' section of the auditing standards?
-Amanda suggests that students should read the requirements carefully, as they are the explicit rules auditors must follow. She also recommends looking at the explanatory and application material after the requirements for additional context and understanding.
What does Amanda mean by 'unlocking the structure of the audit standards'?
-Amanda refers to understanding the standard layout which typically includes the objective, definitions, and requirements. By understanding this structure, students can more easily find what they need and read the information without getting overwhelmed.
Why are the definitions in auditing standards important according to Amanda?
-Definitions are important because they provide clarity on key audit terms and concepts, which is crucial for students who are new to auditing or need a refresher on specific audit processes.
What role does explanatory and application material play in understanding auditing standards?
-Explanatory and application material provides context and examples to the main standard, helping students understand how to apply the requirements in practice, which can be particularly helpful for those who find the requirements section challenging.
How does Amanda recommend leveraging existing resources to learn auditing standards?
-Amanda suggests using resources such as her own videos, materials from public accounting firms, and professional associations to gain different perspectives and explanations of the auditing standards.
What is retrieval practice and why is it important for learning auditing standards?
-Retrieval practice is the act of actively recalling information from memory, which is important for learning because it helps solidify understanding and prepares students for exams where they need to retrieve and apply knowledge.
What bonus resource does Amanda provide to help understand auditing standards?
-Amanda provides a word document template in the video description to help summarize and analyze auditing standards, which includes fields for standard number, name, summary, key points, and areas where professional judgment is required.
Outlines
đ Introduction to Auditing Standards
The video begins with the host, Amanda, addressing her audience, which includes both regular subscribers and newcomers. Amanda, an experienced auditing lecturer at a major Australian university, emphasizes the importance of auditing standards as the foundation of auditing. She shares her approach to teaching auditing, which involves using the auditing standards themselves rather than a textbook. Amanda highlights that the auditing standards, whether Australian, international (ISAS), or US (SAS), share a similar structure, making her tips universally applicable. She introduces four top tips to help viewers understand and navigate auditing standards more effectively.
đ Unlocking the Structure of Audit Standards
Amanda's first tip focuses on understanding the structure of auditing standards. She explains that regardless of the jurisdiction, standards have a consistent layout, starting with the objective, followed by definitions, and then requirements. The objective section clarifies the purpose of the standard, while definitions provide clarity on key terms. Amanda stresses the importance of the requirements section, which outlines the explicit rules auditors must follow. She also advises looking at the explanatory and application material for further context and understanding, which is often overlooked by students due to its length but is crucial for comprehending the requirements.
đ Utilizing Resources for Audit Standard Learning
In her second tip, Amanda encourages viewers to leverage existing resources to aid in understanding auditing standards. She mentions her own comprehensive video series explaining Australian auditing standards in detail and suggests looking for similar materials from professional accounting bodies and major accounting firms. Amanda emphasizes the value of videos for visual learners and the importance of finding resources that cater to individual learning styles. She also introduces the concept of retrieval practice, which involves actively recalling information to strengthen memory and understanding. This practice can be done through note-taking, creating quizzes, and using concept maps to link audit concepts together.
đĄ Applying Audit Standards in Daily Life
Amanda's third tip is about applying the auditing standards to real-life scenarios as a way to practice retrieval and deepen understanding. She suggests thinking about inherent risks, controls, and evidence in everyday situations, like dining at a restaurant, to see auditing concepts in action. As a bonus, Amanda provides a link to a word document template in the video description to help viewers summarize and analyze auditing standards. The template includes sections for standard details, summaries, and considerations of professional judgments. Amanda concludes by inviting viewers to share their own tips for learning auditing standards and encourages engagement with the audit community on her YouTube channel.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄAuditing Standards
đĄObjective
đĄDefinitions
đĄRequirements
đĄExplanatory Material
đĄResources
đĄRetrieval Practice
đĄConcept Map
đĄProfessional Judgment
đĄTemplate
Highlights
Unlocking the secrets to learning auditing standards easily is the focus of today's video.
Amanda, with over a decade of teaching auditing, shares her expertise on understanding audit standards.
The importance of audit standards as the foundation of auditing is emphasized.
Amanda's course uses auditing standards instead of a textbook, highlighting their practical application.
Audit standards globally share a similar structure, making the learning process applicable across jurisdictions.
Tip one: Understanding the structure of audit standards is crucial for easy navigation.
The objective section of standards outlines their purpose and what they aim to achieve.
Definitions in audit standards are vital for clarity, especially for new learners.
Requirements are the explicit rules auditors must follow, detailed step by step.
Explanatory and application material provides context and examples for better understanding.
Leveraging existing resources like Amanda's videos can aid in the comprehension of audit standards.
Retrieval practice is essential for learning, involving actively recalling information.
Note-taking in one's own words aids in better information retention for exams.
Concept mapping is a recommended method for visualizing and linking audit concepts.
Applying audit standards to everyday scenarios can enhance practical understanding.
A bonus resource, a word document template, is provided to help understand audit standards.
The template includes sections for summarizing standards and identifying areas requiring professional judgment.
Encouragement for community sharing of learning methods to enhance collective understanding.
Amanda's channel and website offer a comprehensive study guide for auditing.
Transcripts
what's up audit fans have you ever
opened the auditing standards or opened
the pdf and just become
completely overwhelmed and bamboozled
well today's video
is for you today we're going to look at
how you
can unlock the secrets to learn auditing
standards easily
let's get into it
back to my regular subscribers hello to
all those people who are always
commenting on my new videos
and sharing their knowledge with our
little audit community here
i really value your contribution so
welcome back
to anybody who's new hi my name is
amanda i do love to audit
and i've been teaching auditing at a
major australian university for over
a decade now it doesn't seem like that
long and i've been in higher education
for
almost two decades and i really love
sharing what i know about audit and how
to unlock
insights to help students so today we're
looking at the audit standards and
they're really really important because
they're the foundation of auditing
in my particular course i don't actually
prescribe a textbook i prescribe the
auditing standards
and we use those as our foundation now
no matter where you are
whether you're here in australia where i
am
and you have the australian auditing
standards whether you're using
the international versions issued by the
international
assurance and audit standards board so
you're looking at the um
isas or even if you're in the us
and you're using the uss their standards
on auditing
this process is going to be useful no
matter what jurisdiction
and what standards you have because the
standards while not all totally aligned
across the entire globe
have a fairly similar structure and
layout
so today i'm going to share with you
four top tips that i have
to help unlock the secrets of
understanding
what is going on in these standards and
how we can take advantage of that for
our learning
to make the whole process easier so tip
number one
is going to be about unlocking the
structure of the audit standards
no matter where in the world you're
studying audit
the standards are usually structured the
same whether you're here in australia
whether you're using the international
auditing standards the isas
whether you're using the us standards
the sas
they have a similar layout and once you
can get into the groove
and unlock the secrets of that layout it
makes it really easy
to actually find what you need and read
the information
without getting overwhelmed by all these
unfamiliar words
so we always start out with the
objective now certainly at the front of
the standard there's a whole lot of
legal information about
scope and date of application etc but
for a student who's learning the
standard obviously you need to make sure
you have the most current standard so
always look at the
list and make sure it's the most current
one but you always start with the
objective
the objective is what is the purpose of
this standard why do we have it
what is it trying to help us understand
the second part is going to be the
definitions if you're new to audit or
you're just learning about this process
or you need a refresher
then the definitions are really critical
because they'll tell you exactly what
an engagement letter is or what inherent
risk is or what the population
of something is so the definitions are
really critical
and the thing is they're spread all
throughout the individual standards
there's not
one central glossary for the audit
standard so you're going to need to find
it in the definition
section of each standard now the third
part of the audit standards that i
always like to look at is the
requirements
remember the requirements are the bits
that you have to follow
these are the explicit rules set out for
auditors the auditors
shall gather sufficient and appropriate
evidence to be able to render their
audit opinion the auditor
shall provide an opinion on um
you know the financial statements and
whether they're free from material
misstatement
the auditor should set a level of
materiality so the requirements tell us
step by step what we should be doing and
they usually are in that
process of at the start of the audit in
the middle of the audit at the end of
the audit so the requirements are really
clear
but a key issue when i'm talking with
students and people online
is that they look at the requirements
and go i don't understand this language
what does some of this mean
because they are the requirements
they're not written with a lot of
extra explanatory material they're just
exactly what the auditor should do
according to the standard
so my second tip and one that uh
students often
don't do people studying auditing don't
do
is look at the explanatory and
application material
that's after the requirements and people
will often go
well there's three pages of requirements
but 20 pages
of explanatory material i don't want to
read more
and often people will just stick with
the requirements and be confused
but here's where the application and
explanatory material is really important
the application and explanatory material
actually provides context
to the main standard so a standard might
have a sentence and you go
i don't understand what that sentence
means then you can go to the explanatory
material often there will be a cross
reference so it'll say look at paragraph
a 25 or a3 and those a paragraphs
indicate
application and explanatory paragraph
material
that's where they say in a situation
here's an example
here is how we apply that in some more
depth so if you're stuck after reading
the requirements
definitely definitely look at the
explanatory material
because it provides a lot of insights
you might need
to have potentially both you know
bookmark or something on the pdf so that
you can flip
from the requirements to the explanatory
material and almost read them side by
side
my third tip is to take advantage of
existing
resources now of course i have an entire
set
where i've gone through almost every
single auditing standard in the
australian versions anyway
line by line to explain exactly what is
happening and what the words mean
so i've gone through the objective the
definition
and the requirement i don't go through
the explanatory material because it's
just too long it wouldn't actually fit
in a video
but leverage off the resources that i've
already built
and that are available to you absolutely
free
you could also look for materials from
any of the public accounting firms the
major professional associations so in
the us for example the aicpa has a lot
of great stuff on various auditing
standards
um in australia the auditing standards
board
the big four audit firms and other
professional accounting firms
will often put out their own explainer
videos about what an auditing standard
means
especially in a specific jurisdiction so
do some youtube searching there
and start creating some playlists of
perhaps my videos
some from a professional body and also
from um
the major accounting firms just to
gather that resource
i'll often often a lot of my students
find it easier to actually
watch me explaining the standards than
reading the standards themselves
so a video is a good way to start if
you're that type of visual learner
but of course remember do what works for
you if you can read the standards
and you're understanding it you're
seeing the picture of what the standards
are trying to put together
then that is absolutely fantastic if
you're more of a visual learner
and you prefer watching somebody else
explain then definitely check out videos
and other resources
my fourth and final tip on how to learn
the auditing standards easily
is retrieval practice and what does that
mean well
in education we know that students take
information in as you're learning
something you know you're reading about
stuff you're watching videos
you're taking notes okay it's important
to take notes it's important to get that
information and put it into
your own words so don't copy my words
take what you're understanding
and write it down in your own words
because then it'll be easier for you to
replicate and reference in the exam
that's really important so retrieval
practice
means not just absorbing information but
practicing
pulling that information out of your
brain because that's exactly what you
have to do in an exam
an exam is not about putting information
in
a really key stumbling block i guess i
see with students
who are not doing so well at university
is that they're often focused on putting
information
in so reading reading reading but
perhaps not doing
practice so it could be that you could
work with some friends to create some
quizzes
for yourself so create some um questions
where you could test
each other so writing notes can be
really useful and a great form of
retrieval
not necessarily just like copying what
i'm saying or what somebody else is
saying and transcribing but taking it
and putting it into your own words
another way to practice retrieval is
something called
a concept map so you might take some
ideas related to
assertions and try and draw in a bit of
a spider diagram
how many things could be related to
assertions oh what's related to evidence
i'm going to need to think about
materiality i'm going to need to think
about procedures
i know that for example for the
existence assertion
and the occurrence assertion i'm going
to need to do more vouching
for the accuracy valuation and
allocation assertion i'm probably going
to need to do some recalculation
so the more that you can try and link
your audit concepts together
to draw a concept map of what the audit
standard is all about or what the
standards in general are all about
then the better your brain is at
retrieving
that information from inside your memory
because remember
in the exam retrieval is what you need
to do and application is what you need
to do
the other way that you can try and
practice retrieval
is try apply the standards in something
that you see in everyday life
you go into a restaurant you think oh
what are the inherent risks
do i identify any controls what sort of
evidence could i use here a receipt
what sort of documentation do the
waiters or waitresses or the servers use
some sort of electronic recording system
so think about immersing yourself i
talked to my students about
being in the matrix of audit if you
haven't seen the movie
um it's the matrix is the movie there
but you know
looking at the world through that audit
lens will help you apply the auditing
standards
now as a bonus what i'm also going to
provide to you
in the description is a link to
a word document file that i've developed
to help people
understand the audit standards so you
know it has some basic fields like
what is the standard number what is the
standard name
asking you whether it's a standard about
planning about gathering evidence or
about reporting
in the end it asks you to summarize the
standards
if you could give a two or three
sentence summary
of that standard and then some more
detail
a common mistake that students make is
that they often just copy
out the entire standard that just that
to me
doesn't make much sense if it helps you
to remember that's great
but you know summarize um you know the
five main things that you need to do or
the three main things the key points
that you need to consider of what the
auditor has to do in response to that
standard
now of course some standards are bigger
than others asa 315
isa 315 is a massive standard and
there's much more to think about in that
one
than there would be in uh for example
asa 701
which is a bit more contained about key
audit matters
but um the other part that i think is
really useful for people learning
auditing and studying auditing
is a section where i ask you about the
judgments remember audit is all about
professional judgment
there are no rules that say this is
exactly what you have to do or this is
exactly what you have to do
it gives you choices that say it says as
the auditor you have to do this
it's not an easy decision you have to
make a professional judgment where
there's perhaps no right answer
and you have to take in all of the
information that you have access to
so in my template for you there's also a
section
to get you to think about where does the
auditor have to make judgments
where is it that they have to use their
professional decision making
and that'll help you understand where
the complexity in that audit standard
lies
and where you need to focus on
understanding the scenario the situation
and what sort of information the auditor
needs to be able to make those decisions
now of course these are my top tips
the ones that i've developed over a
decade of teaching auditing and helping
students on how to learn the auditing
standards
in a way that's easy and useful to their
studies
if you have a great way that you've used
to learn the auditing standards i'd love
for you to share it with our audit
community in the comments
we're all in this social distance
learning together and learning online
together
one of the best things about youtube is
the little community that seems to have
popped up around my channel
where people share their experiences and
the knowledge
so that we can all improve together
so i want to thank you for watching this
video if you thought it was useful
obviously i'd always love a thumbs up
consider subscribing and there are
always plenty more videos coming out on
my channel
as well as on my free audit study guide
on the amandaloves2audit.com website
where you'll find all of my videos
laid out really nicely in a sort of
study format that'll help with most
university and professional level
courses thanks for watching
stay safe stay well and i'll see you
next time
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