Objectivity or Subjectivity in Audit Sampling ?

摘要

In financial audit practices, sampling is used to collect audit evidence that are all-important in order to convince the financial auditor on the level of adequacy of financial statements with the financial reporting framework applicable to the audited entity, with the verity of the performance of the audited activity. The audit survey technique is used to audit both the elements of internal control, and the account activities and the account balances. The responsibilities of the financial auditor give point to the decisional process in auditing, especially in respect of establishing the adequate types, moment and quantities of audit evidence. This is the reason why many auditors fear for the implementation of audit survey. Their behaviour is justified by the risks implied by the sampling which can hall-mark the efficiency and efficacy of the audit survey, especially when the financial auditor does not have enough knowledge of the audited entity. Furthermore, there appears temporarily the doubt about the objectivity of subjectivity in the audit survey, about undermining the professional reasoning when implementing the audit survey. Considering all these arguments, the implementation of an ample methodology of research on the audit survey becomes really necessary in order to demonstrate that the sampling technique (an important decisional instrument of the financial auditor) must be objective, argued, devoid of doubts or assumptions; this methodology regards documentation, calculation, observation, analysis and synthesis.