In conversation with another auditor, Fran - an auditor who has been associated primarily with audits of large clients - offers her opinion that 'substantive testing of cash accounts is obsolete. The primary emphasis on cash audits ought to be on auditing the controls over the cash process, assessing the risks associated with the control environment, and selectively testing the client's year-end reconciliation.' The other auditor, Cheng, replies, 'Unfortunately, you have audited in a very sheltered world. Most of the audit clients see are small and don't have particularly good internal controls. There is little segregation of duties.

Most posting of accounts is to computer systems under control of the controller's department.

Unless we do primarily substantive audit, we could not gather enough evidence to render an opinion on cash.

Required:

a What primary elements of internal control must Fran be relying on in reaching her conclusion about the audit approach to cash?

b For each item identified in part a, indicate an audit procedure the auditor might use to corroborate the initial understanding of the risk or the control.

c What primary substantive audit procedures would Cheng, the second auditor, most likely use to audit a small business? Describe the audit objectives accomplished with each procedure.