Wiley Practitioner's Guide to GAAS 2015: Covering all SASs, SSAEs, SSARSs, PCAOB Auditing Standards, and Interpretations

AU-C 620 Using the Work of an Auditor's Specialist

AU-C ORIGINAL PRONOUNCEMENT

Original Pronouncement

Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 122.

AU-C DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Source: AU-C 620.06

Auditor's specialist. An individual or organization possessing expertise in a field other than accounting or auditing, whose work in that field is used by the auditor to assist the auditor in obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence. An auditor's specialist may be either an auditor's internal specialist (who is a partner or staff, including temporary staff, of the auditor's firm or a network firm) or an auditor's external specialist.

Expertise. Skills, knowledge, and experience in a particular field.

Management's specialist. An individual or organization possessing expertise in a field other than accounting or auditing, whose work in that field is used by the entity to assist the entity in preparing the financial statements.

OBJECTIVES OF AU-C SECTION 620

AU-C 620.04 states that:

… the objectives of the auditor are

1. to determine whether to use the work of an auditor's specialist and
2. if using the work of an auditor's specialist, to determine whether that work is adequate for the auditor's purposes.

FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

NOTE: Typically, the auditor will consider the need to use a specialist as part of forming an overall audit strategy.

Qualifications of a Specialist

The auditor should consider the following to evaluate whether the specialist has the necessary ...