1. Understand assurance services and attest services.
2. What is quality control and what are the elements of quality control?
3. What is peer review? What are some types of peer review?
4. What is SOX and what does it do?
5. In terms of governing CPAs, what does the AICPA do? The State Boards of Accountancy? The PCAOB? The SEC?
6. Why is independence necessary? Threats to auditors' independence?
7. What are the different types of audits?
8. Know types of audit opinions? What are they and what do they mean?
9. Know GAAS.
10. Know the responsibilities of the auditor.What are the responsibilities of management vs the auditor?
11. What are the Code Principles and Code Rules?
12. What is professional skepticism?
13. Have an understanding of what is contained in the standard audit report - both AICPA and PCAOB.
14. Working papers are important because? Who owns them?Who can access them? Types of working papers?
15. What does it mean to prepare financial statements according to GAAP?
16. What are the types of audit procedures?
17. What are the audit assertions? How do they each relate to transactions and account balances?
18. What are the advantages and disadvantages to performing interim procedures? What impact does it have on risk?
19. Know the difference between test of controls, test of transactions, and analytical procedures.
20. Be able to do simple calculation with risk assessments.
21. Why are analytical procedures so important and how are they utilized in an audit?
22. Which types of transactions are harder to audit, and how do you audit them? Consider routine, non-routine, estimates, fair-value determinations, etc.
23. Why is the auditor concerned about related party transactions and how can they be audited?
24. What are the requirements for audit evidence, and which types are the strongest?
25. What do we mean by reasonable assurance?
26. Review the auditors' planning process and procedures performed.
27. What is materiality and how do you estimate it?
28. How does fraud risk figure into the performance of an audit?
29. What is the purpose of the auditor's performing test of controls and how does it impact the audit procedures and risk assessment?
30. Understand the importance of segregation of duties.
31. What do tests of controls address?
32. What are some monitoring activities?
33. What are some of the procedures auditors use to understand the client's internal control, and what objectives do each of the procedures meet?
34. What information concerning the audit should the auditor communicate to the audit committee?
35. Know the five components of internal control.
36. Know the three functions of internal control.
37. What are some of the limitations that even the best internal controls can't address?
38. PCAOB requires auditors follow a series of steps in regards to internal control - what are they?