THE AUDITOR'S USE OF INTERNAL CONTROL


The auditor's objective in evaluating and testing internal control is to determine the degree of reliance which he may place on the information contained in the accounting records. If he obtains reasonable assurance by means of completeness and accuracy of the accounting records and the validity of entries therein he may limit the extent of his substantive testing. Because of the inherent limitations in even the most effective internal control system, it will not be possible for the auditor to rely solely on its operation as a basis for his opinion on the financial statement. In some enterprises the auditor may be unable to determine whether all the transactions have been reflected in the accounting records unless they are effective internal controls. The types of internal control on which the auditor may seek to rely vary widely. Where the auditor's primary evaluation indicates that there are controls which meet the objective which the auditor has identified then he should design and carry out compliance tests if he wishes to rely on those controls. However, where his evaluation discloses weakness in or the absence of internal controls such that material error or omission could arise in the accounting records or financial statements the auditor will move directly to designing and carrying out substantive test