The annual financial statements of a company can be viewed as a collection of assertions made by the directors. These assertions can be categorized as:

$$ assertions about classes of transactions and events and related disclosures for the period under audit, for example sales, purchases, interest received; and

$$ assertions about account balances and related disclosures at year$-$end, for example accounts receivable, property plant and equipment, accounts payable.

The auditor intends to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence pertaining to the assertions to be in a position to express an opinion on the fair resentation of the financial statements.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO:

a$.$ Explain the term financial statement assertion. $(1)$

b$.$ Identify the assertions pertaining to each of the above two categories and provide a brief explanation for each. $(12)$

c$.$ Explain the term sufficient appropriate evidence. $(5)$

d$.$ Explain the term the auditor's right of access. $(4)$

e$.$ Explain the link between the assertions and the auditor's right of access. $(3)$