The following questions concern persuasiveness of evidence.
Choose the best response.
a. Which of the following types of documentary evidence should the auditor consider to be the most reliable?
(1) A sales invoice issued by the client and supported by a delivery receipt from an outside trucker.
(2) Confirmation of an account payable balance mailed by and returned directly to the auditor.
(3) A check, issued by the company and bearing the payee’s endorsement, that is included with the bank statements mailed directly to the auditor.
(4) An audit schedule prepared by the client’s controller and reviewed by the client’s treasurer.

b. Which of the following statements concerning audit evidence is true?
(1) To be appropriate, audit evidence should be either persuasive or relevant, but need not be reliable.
(2) The measure of the quantity and quality of audit evidence lies in the auditor’s judgment.
(3) The difficulty and expense of obtaining audit evidence concerning an account balance is a valid basis for omitting the test.
(4) A client’s accounting records can be sufficient audit evidence to support the financial statements.

c. Audit evidence can come in different forms with different degrees of persuasiveness.
Which of the following is the least persuasive type of evidence?
(1) Vendor’s invoice
(2) Bank statement obtained from the client
(3) Computations made by the auditor
(4) Prenumbered sales invoices

d. Which of the following presumptions is correct about the reliability of audit evidence?
(1) Information obtained indirectly from outside sources is the most reliable audit evidence.
(2) To be reliable, audit evidence should be convincing rather than merely persuasive.
(3) Reliability of audit evidence refers to the amount of corroborative evidence obtained.
(4) Effective internal control provides more assurance about the reliability of audit evidence.