Audit Guide December 12 2006 - Final
Description
December 1, 2010 Audit Guide Auditing For Purposes of The Elections Finances Act Elections Manitoba Elections Manitoba December 1, 2010 Table of Contents SECTION 100 - Introduction ................................................................................ 1 SECTION 200 - Auditor’s role and environment .................................................. 4 SECTION 300 - Preliminary planning & other considerations .............................. 6 SECTION 400 - Detecting & communicating misstatements ............................. 15 SECTION 500 - Specific audit & risk issues....................................................... 18 SECTION 600 - Reporting ................................................................................. 22 APPENDICIES: APPENDIX A - Independence – excerts from council interpretations for Manitoba and Ontario.................................. 24 APPENDIX B - Sample engagement letters ..................................................... 31 APPENDIX C - Sample letters of representation .............................................. 37 APPENDIX D - Sample audit procedures for the audit of a candidate’s campaign ........................................................... 41 APPENDIX E - Sample audit reports – candidate’s campaign ......................... 45 Elections Manitoba December 1, 2010 Section 100 INTRODUCTION .01 The Elections Finances Act (EFA) ...
Informations
| Publié par | Shewyer |
| Nombre de lectures | 15 |
| Langue | English |
Extrait
December 1, 2010
Elections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba
December 1, 2010
SECTION 100 ................................................................................1- Introduction SECTION 200 role and environment ..................................................4- Auditor’s SECTION 300 ..............................6- Preliminary planning & other considerations SECTION 400 .............................15- Detecting & communicating misstatements SECTION 500 audit & risk issues.......................................................18- Specific SECTION 600- Reporting .................................................................................22 APPENDICIES: APPENDIX A excerts from council - Independence interpretations for Manitoba and Ontario..................................24 APPENDIX B - Sample engagement letters .....................................................31 APPENDIX C - Sample letters of representation ..............................................37 APPENDIX D - Sample audit procedures for the audit of a candidate’s campaign ...........................................................41 APPENDIX E audit reports candidate’s campaign . - Sample. 54 ......................
Elections Manitoba
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.01The Elections Finances Act (EFA)is the legislation that governs financial matters of registered political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants and other participants in the electoral process. The EFAto file various forms, financial statements,requires these participants and returns that report financial balances or financial transactions to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Forms, financial statements, and returns filed with the CEO are available for public inspection. .02 Specifically, theEFArequires that an audit report accompany the following forms, financial statements, and returns to be filed with the CEO: a) Annual Financial Statement of a Registered Political Party (Form 920); b) Statement of Income, Transfers and Election Expenses of a Registered Political Party for a Campaign Period (Form 921); and, c) Candidate’s Financial Statements and Supporting Schedules (Form 922). d) Leadership Contestant’s Financial Statements and Supporting Schedules (Form 947). .03 The Office of the CEO, called Elections Manitoba, is an independent and non-partisan office of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly and has prescribed the forms referred in paragraph .02. .04 The term “financial statement is used throughout the remainder of this document to describe the forms prescribed in paragraph .02.
" "! "! # "! " $ .05 This Audit Guide is designed to complement theCICA Handbook Assuranceadditional guidance concerning the unique auditby providing environment and requirements of theEFA, and should be adopted with this in mind. This Guide is not intended to replace theCICA Handbook Assurance. .06 General guidelines cannot be worded to suit all circumstances that may arise and, therefore, professional judgment should be exercised in conjunction with the guiding principles when making decisions that have audit significance.
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$ %& .07In addition to this Guide, the auditor should review and be familiar with: a)The EFA; b)Accounting Guide - Accounting For Purposes of The Elections Finances Act; c)The Elections Finances Act Legislative Reference Guide For Auditors; d)Advisory opinions from Elections Manitoba, if any are specific to the entity, and e)The Income Tax Act (Manitoba)(the tax treatment of contributions). .08 Auditors are encouraged to contact Elections Manitoba when in doubt or when requiring clarification as many times as necessary to ensure that their responsibilities are met. Written requests will receive a written response.
$ "! "! ! ' ! ( $ .09This Audit Guide must be interpreted in conjunction with theEFA.
% .10 All of the recommendations have been set in italics to highlight them from the remainder of the text. Additional commentary has been provided to illustrate the context within which the recommendations have been presented.
( ! .11Audit Guide Auditing For Purposes of The EFAis effective August 1, 2010. However, this document does not take precedence over theEFA and, accordingly, financial statements filed before the effective date, as well as after, are subject to the applicable requirements of theEFA.
() *+ " *! .12Audit Guide Auditing For Purposes of The EFAhas been reviewed by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba. The Institute has noted that the guide is a limited purpose document intended to provide assistance to entities and persons governed by The Elections Finances Act and their auditors. As such it does not include all of the standards of the CICA Handbook.Users of the guide are cautioned that it should be used in conjunction with the CICA Handbook and the code of conduct of their professional association.
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Certain sections of this document are reproduced, with minor changes in wording, fromA Guide For the Auditor of a Candidate in a Federal Election with permission from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, and have been denoted as such with an asterisk (*). It must be noted that the Federal Electionguide is only applicable to elections under the Canada Elections Act and so the included sections have been provided strictly as a source of additional guidance.
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.01 The role of the auditor in the electoral process is an important one. The auditor adds value to the reporting process by providing: 1) Independence, 2) Objectivity, and 3) Credibility. Consequently, the reliability of information that is disclosed publicly is enhanced, and compliance with theEFAis improved, thereby resulting in a democratic process that is more equitable. .02 However, the environment within which the auditor conducts the audit is unique and complex. The following provides the auditor with a broad overview of the unique characteristics of an audit conducted in accordance with theEFA: a)Timing for a candidate’s campaign or a leadership contestant, on a relative basis, the period under audit is short and the auditor is not usually engaged until the candidacy period begins; b)Planningauditor must plan immediately upon being engaged, due the to the short-term nature of a candidate’s campaign and the required level of knowledge of theEFAand other documents outlined in the Introduction to this guide; c)Complexity the requirements of theEFAare complex; appropriate time must be committed by the participants in the electoral process to understand these requirements; d)Going Concern a candidate’s campaign and a leadership contestant's campaign are not going concerns, rather they are entities with a sole purpose that conducts activities using short-term resources over a defined beginning and ending period of time; e)Volunteersthe participants in the electoral process are many of volunteers, rather than full-time resources. The inherent difficulties of a volunteer base, such as commitment, time and limited accounting knowledge, must not be taken lightly;
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f)Experience the official agent for a candidate’s campaign or a leadership contestant, who is similar to a controller in a corporation or union, is not required to possess accounting or bookkeeping experience. In many instances, the official agent is limited in these skills; g)Internal Control in some cases, for reasons outlined above, internal control is not well-understood or practically applied; h)Reportingreporting process is complex as responsibility exists to the report on the fair presentation of the financial statements, as well as each uncovered incidence of non-compliance with theEFA; i)Materiality the concept of materiality is difficult to applyto the audit of financial statements that are used by the CEO to determine: a) reimbursement of election expenses with public funds; b) whether election expenses exceed election expense limits; c) whether advertising expenses exceed advertising expense limits; d) that provisions governing contributions are not violated. j)Public Disclosure the financial statements, along with the Auditor’s Report, are public information. .03 In addition, the obvious goal of an election campaign is to win. The combination of volunteers, loose controls, and a strong desire to win the election may conflict with the financial control objective (i.e., many of the provisions of theEFA)of the official agent or chief financial officer. This does not differ dramatically from the competing interests that one may find in a corporation between the sales team and the controller, however, a corporation is a going concern, is staffed with full-time resources, has a corporate infrastructure in place, and usually has a strong system of internal control to protect corporate resources. This differs significantly from that of an election campaign. .04 One last comment is appropriate. It should be kept in mind that the political party or candidate is ultimately responsible for overspending the limit on election or advertising expenses. .05 The purpose of this section is meant to raise awareness, before the audit begins, of the overall audit environment because the audit will be much less difficult and complex if the environment is understood earlier, rather than later. Planning early is a prerequisite for success in any environment; but it is especially crucial in this environment.
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&*&+ "! .01 Under the EFA, audits may only be performed by: 1) Persons with a professional accounting designation, who are registered members in good standing of an institute, association, or society of professional accountants established by an Act of the Legislature; or 2) A firm of professional accountants in which all of the partners are so registered. .02An auditor must be a Chartered Accountant (CA), a Certified General Accountant (CGA), or a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). Although not a stipulation of theEFA, upon request the auditor’s institute, association, or society could confirm that the auditor is a member in good standing and is registered to perform public accounting, including audits. .03 Even though they may hold a professional accounting designation, the following persons are not eligible to act as auditor: a) Election officers or enumerators; b) Candidates; c) Official agents of candidates; d) Chief financial officers of registered political parties, or e) Persons involved in the raising or spending of money or the custody of property of a candidate or registered political party.
!! "! .04 An auditor must be independent of the registered political party, candidate or leadership contestant and be free from any influence, interest, or relationship with the affairs of the party, candidate or leadership contestant that would, or would be seen to, impair the auditor’s professional judgment or objectivity. An auditor must communicate matters related to his/ her independence as specified inCICA Handbook Canadian Auditing Standards Section 260 Communication with thosecharged with
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governance (CICA Handbook - Assurance Section 5751“Communications with Those Having Oversight Responsibility for the Financial Reporting Process). As per s.10.2(4) of the EFA, the auditormust at all times remain independent and upon becoming aware of an impairment of objectivity, an auditor must resign immediately. These requirements are in addition to the auditor’s responsibility to comply with the professional standards of the professional organization to which they are affiliated. .05 It is necessary for the auditor to refer to applicable provincial rules of conduct and interpretations when accepting an engagement of this type. Specifically, the auditor should fully analyze the extent to which they, their staff, or their firm are involved in partisan political activity and document their conclusions on objectivity and independence, where applicable. .06 Council Interpretations 204/20 through 204/28 from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba have been provided in Appendix A to offer guidance with respect to independence and objectivity for auditors appointed in Manitoba. Although not related directly to Manitoba, the Questions Considered by Council in Drafting CI 204A - Audit Appointments Under the Ontario Election Finances Act- from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is also provided in Appendix A as this resource may offer additional guidance related to independence and objectivity issues. Given that the Ontario Election Finances Act and the rules and regulations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario differ from those of Manitoba, these supplemental questions may assist the auditor in working through the issues, but are not meant to be a definitive reference.
$ "! .07 Each registered political party and every candidate nominated or declared a candidate in a provincial election must appoint an auditor. For candidates, auditors are appointed on Form 908Notice of Appointment of Auditor for a Candidateand for registered political parties on Form 927Notice of Appointment/Consent of Auditor for a Registered Political Party form. Each includes the auditor’s name, address, telephone number, and signed consent. .08 a candidate’s campaign, the auditor is engaged contractually by the For candidate; however the auditor’s report should be addressed to the official agent. For this reason, the official agent should be aware of the terms of the engagement. It is recommended that an engagement letter, signed by both the candidate and official agent, document the terms of engagement. An example of an engagement letter for the audit of a candidate’s campaign, which may be amended where the auditor feels appropriate, is included in Appendix B to this Guide. It is the same for a leadership contestant.The auditor is engaged contractually by the leadership contestant; however the
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auditor’s report should be addressed to the official agent of the leadership contestant. Additional reference may be obtained fromCICA Handbook Canadian Auditing Standards Section 210 Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements (CICA Handbook- Assurance Section 5110, “Terms of the Engagement) . .09 For the audit of a registered political party, it is also desirable that the auditor document the terms of the contract including the objective, scope and limitations of the engagement in an engagement letter, signed by both the principal officer and the chief financial officer. An example of an engagement letter for the audit of a financial statement of a registered political party is included in Appendix B to this Guide.Additional reference may be obtained fromCICA Handbook Canadian Auditing Standards Assurance Section 210 Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements (CICA Handbook - Assurance Section 5110, “Terms of the Engagement. ) .10 It may be appropriate for the engagement letter to refer to all relationships and other matters between the firm and the entity that, in the auditor’s professional judgment, may reasonably be thought to bear on independence such as partisan political activity of the auditor, staff or firm, as well as the related safeguards that have been applied to eliminate identified threats to independence or reduce them to an acceptable level.
& " $ % .11 When expressing an opinion on financial information, the auditor should comply with the general and examination standards as set out inCICA Handbook Canadian Auditing Standards Section 20 Overall objectives of the independent auditor and the conduct of an audit in accordance with Canadian auditing standards (CICA Handbook AssuranceSection 5100 “Generally Accepted Auditing Standards.) .12 audit of financial statements required under the TheEFAshould be conducted in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Canadian Auditing Standards Sections 200 to 7000 would generally apply to this engagement, as well as CICA Handbook Canadian Auditing Standards Section 800 Special PurposeFrameworks and Section 805 Special Considerations Audits of Single Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts or Items of a Financial Statement (CICA Handbook Assurance Section 5805 “Audit Reports on Financial Information Other Than Financial Statements.) .13Planning for the audit of financial statements of a registered political party or candidate under theEFAshould consider,amongst other things, risks that arise as a result of the following constraints imposed by theEFA:
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a) Election expense limit; b) Advertising expense limit; c) Reimbursement of election expense provisions; and, d) Contribution provisions (source, amount limits, eligibility to collect). .14 The auditor’s examination and report, in each particular circumstance, encompasses all of the schedules of the Annual Financial Statement of a Registered Political Party (Form 920), Statement of Income, Transfers and Election Expenses of a Registered Political Party for a Campaign Period (Form 921), Candidate’s Financial Statements and Supporting Schedules (Form 922), Leadership Contestant's Financial Statements and Supporting Schedules (Form 947).
! .15The auditor has access at all reasonable times to the records of the candidate or the registered political party or a leadership contestant and must be provided with any information and explanations that the auditor considers necessary to enable the auditor to report.
$ & ! .16 The audit of a candidate involves a very short time frame between the point at which the auditor consents to act as auditor and the filing of the audit report. However, it is still important that auditors seek and obtain an understanding of client’s campaign and consider any internal controls that are in place. CICA Handbook References: a) Canadian Auditing Standards Section 315 Idetnifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement through understanding the entity and its environment (CICA Handbook Assurance - Section 5141 Understanding the entity and its environment and assessing the risks of material misstatement); b) Canadian Auditing Standards Section 265 Communicating deficiencies in internal control to those charged with governance and management (CICA Handbook Assurance - Section 5220 Internal control in the context of an audit weaknesses in internal control) c) Canadian Auditing Standards Section 300 Planing an Audit of Financial Statements (CICA Handbook Assurance Section 5150 Planning) .17Due to the short-term nature of a candidate’s campaign and a leadership contestant's campaign and the volunteer aspect of many of the individuals involved in a campaign, especially the official agent, the auditor should plan the audit early, keeping in mind that it is less likely that the participants in
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