List the two primary audit assertions, your audit team should be concerned with regards to the accounts receivable of AHL. Why?

Case Study:

• Shirley Holmes was hired as AHLs corporate controller in September 2019. AHLs previous controller resigned in February 2019 due to illness, and the position was temporarily filled by a payroll clerk. Shirley anticipates that she will have all year-end information ready for our audit team by March 15, 2020. AHL uses a proprietary accounting software package that includes a purchases journal, perpetual inventory account, and sub-ledgers for both accounts receivable and accounts payable.
• Historically, AHLs sales are highest during February and March, and from August to October. When a customer order is received, by phone, email, or through the website, the Customer Service Clerk (CSC) receiving the order, checks that AHL has the items in stock and the correct price by checking an online database of inventory on hand. If available, the CSC sends an order confirmation to the customer either via email or phone, including both quantity and price. The CSC then prepares a sales invoice and sends a copy to the customer. AHLs policy is for the sales invoice to show a shipping date of one day from the order date. The clerk then walks to the adjacent warehouse, selects the ordered items, and walks them to shipping.
• AHL has a shipping staff of four people, and the shipping department will not ship any goods without a sales invoice initialled by the CSC. If the sales invoice does not indicate who is to pay for the shipping costs, then AHL sends the goods FOB shipping point. When a shipment is delivered to an incorrect address it is the CSCs job to contact the customer and obtain the correct information.
• If the account is unpaid after the due date (30 days), the receptionist mails a reminder invoice to the customer. Accounts receivable consist of a large number of small-dollar value accounts, with the exception of five large chain store customers that account for approximately 40% of the total accounts receivable. The allowance for returns typically has been 1% of the fourth-quarter sales.
• During the year, management negotiated an operating line of credit with a new financial institution. The amount authorized is limited to 75% of accounts receivable under 90 days old and 50% of inventory, to a maximum of $2 million. The loan bears interest at prime plus 3%. Under this agreement, AHL is required for audited financial statements within 90 days of its fiscal year-end.

Management Assertion Existence (Occurrence) Completeness Ownership (Rights & Obligations) Brief Description Establish evidence that assets, liabilities, and equities actually exist; revenue and expense transactions actually occurred, and that there are cut-off considerations to existence Establish with evidence that all transactions and accounts that should be presented in the financial reports are actually included. Establish with evidence that amounts reported as assets of the company represent property rights and the amounts reported as liabilities represent obligations Determine whether proper values have been assigned to assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenses. Determine whether the accounting principles are properly selected and applied and whether disclosures are adequate. Valuation (Measurement & Allocation) Presentation (Classification & Disclosure)