ISA 600: Using the work of another auditor The principal auditor has responsibility for the opinion on the group financial statements. In most countries this responsibility is not diminished by reliance on the work of the other auditors of the subsidiary companies or associates. The auditors of the subsidiary companies are a source of evidence only. The principal auditor must decide how much reliance he will place on the work performed by these other auditors. In order to do this he will consider the qualifications, experience and resources of the other auditors. Generally the principal auditor should have the right to ask the other company auditors for all reasonable information and explanations required to form the audit opinion. ISA 600 states that the other auditors should co-operate with the principal auditor.
Performance measures Different measures are appropriate for different businesses. Traditional financial performance measures are: • profit • revenue • costs
Form and content of reports ISAE 3000 does not stipulate a standardised format for the report. Different wording will have to be used depending on the engagement. The report should include the following basic elements. (a) A title that clearly indicates that the report is an independent assurance report; (b) An addressee; (c) An identification and description of the subject matter information and, when appropriate, the subject matter; (d) Identification of the criteria; (e) Where appropriate, a description of any significant inherent limitation associated with the evaluation or measurement of the subject matter against the criteria; (f) When the criteria are available only to specific intended users/relevant only to a specific purpose a statement restricting the use of the assurance report to those users/ that purpose; (g) A statement to identify the responsible party and to describe the responsible party's and the practitioner's responsibilities; (h) A statem