If You Need Love, Get a Puppy - Case Study Example

Professional Skepticism and Auditor Independence: A Case Study John Stevens Head Clerk of Court Rosedale CC: Vince Huston, Jessica RandleDear Sir, As your good office is aware, I, in behalf of Dykstra, Banister, and Huston CPA firm, am currently auditing the financial position of the Town of Rosedale for the year ending December 31, 2005. The audit is being conducted in accordance with the generally accepted auditing standards in the United States of America. During the course of the auditing process, some issues of high significance came to my attention that needs to be reported to you which deals with the qualitative aspects of the Court’s accounting practices and financial reporting.

The reason behind these observations and the recommended plans of action are also stated below. Notable issues related to the Court’s accounting practices and financial reporting were identified during the audit process such as, a) misstatements and missing documents or signatures on paid receipts for misdemeanor traffic violations, and b) missing cash deposits for ticket revenues. The observed misstatements and the incorrect filing of documents are considered as immaterial since most of the inconsistencies are insignificant and unintentional.

However, it is best to practice a tighter control on documentation of receipts to allow accuracy and transparency of government records. On the other hand, I found out that some payments for traffic violation tickets were marked as paid in cash in both the receipt book and on the sheriff’s computer records but do not reflect on the bank deposit. Possible explanations include the inadvertent mixing of the collections the previous day to the next transaction day due to time constraints. To correct this issue, I am recommending that the cash payments should be deposited to the bank not later than a week after the original transaction date.

To properly conclude the auditing process, I will be further investigating the ticket revenue records for any missing cash deposits by vouching a bigger number of samples in the coming days. Still, I am open for clarifications and reasons behind such inconsistencies as your staff has been very helpful in providing me with necessary access to records and information to essential data. Thank you for your assistance and I please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding the matter.

Yours truly,Will StallardStaff Auditor, DB&HReferenceIf You Need Love, Get a Puppy: A Case Study on Professional Skepticism and Auditor Independence. Issues in Accounting Education. p. 237-241. n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2012.