A client, Danny Featherstone has just completed his first year of trading as a private limited company: Assurance Assignment, ATHE, UK

ATHE Level 5 Extended Diploma in Accounting (603/4848/3)

You are working in an accountancy firm as a junior assistant in the assurance department dealing with small and medium-sized businesses. As part of your training, you have been asked to undertake the initial planning of several upcoming assurance engagements.
You will need to prepare the required documentation detailed below for your line manager based on each engagement, citing relevant accounting and assurance practice throughout.

Task 1
A client, Danny Featherstone has just completed his first year of trading as a private limited company in the sportswear industry. He has requested advice on a number of issues relating to assurance and internal controls. You are required to prepare a report that must:
• define the term assurance.
• describe the concept of reasonable assurance.
• explain the assurance process.
• compare and contrast the responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved in an assurance engagement.
• identify the need for organisations of having effective systems of control.
• discuss the need for the main areas of a business that need effective control
systems.
• describe the components of internal control in both manual and computerised environments.
• explain how internal controls are evaluated and conclusions drawn.
Extension activities

To gain a merit, your report must:
• analyse the possible purposes and outcomes obtained from different assurance engagements.
• analyse how internal controls mitigate risk.
To gain a distinction, your report must:

• assess the need to plan assurance activities with professional scepticism and professional judgement.

Task 2
In September, an apprentice joined your department. Your line manager has requested that you prepare a series of handbooks for the apprentice to assist them when completing assurance
engagements. The first handbook should help the apprentice understand how to gather evidence when completing an assurance engagement.
Your handbook must:
• discuss the reasons for preparing documentation relating to assurance engagements.
• describe the difference stages required to gather evidence when completing an assurance engagement.
• review different methods of obtaining evidence for assurance engagements.
• discuss issues arising from the gathering of assurance evidence that needs referral to senior colleagues. Extension activities

To gain a merit, your handbook must:
• analyse the need for written confirmation of representations from management as a form of assurance evidence.
To gain a distinction, your handbook must:
• compare and contrast the reliability of different types of assurance evidence.
LO3 AC 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3M1, 3D1

Task 3
Your line manager is to deliver departmental training on the need for professional ethics when completing assurance engagements. You have been asked to draft the presentation slides and prepare speaker notes that your line manager can use in the training. Your presentation slides and speaker notes must:
• explain the role of professional ethics.
• analyse how the principles of professional behaviour protect the public and fellow professionals.
• explain the threats to fundamental ethical principles.
Extension activities

To gain a merit, your presentation slides and speaker notes must:
• evaluate the importance of confidentiality when completing assurance engagements.

Answer

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