C39AU

Auditing and Assurance

Course Handbook
2022/23
1. Introduction
Auditing and Assurance is a mandatory course on MA Accounting and Finance programme, it introduces
you to the theory and practice of Auditing. We will examine role and objectives of audit, the context in
which audits are carried out and the practical skills required of auditors. The objectives of the course are to
develop an understanding of:
  The theoretical framework within which audit operates
  The practical application of auditing principles and techniques
  The aspects of the business environment giving rise to the need for assurance
2. Course Learning Objectives
On completion of this course you will be able to:

  Discuss the historical development of auditing and explain the need for and nature of third-party
assurance
 Analyse the current regulatory and ethical framework of auditing in the UK
 Outline and apply the steps involved in planning, performing, and completing a statutory
financial statement audit in accordance with UK ISAs and other relevant regulations
  Discuss the features and impact of e-commerce and computerised business systems and assess
manual and computerised business systems and controls
 Describe, apply and criticise the key elements of an audit report
 Discuss current academic research in the field of audit

3. The Global Teaching Team

The School of Social Sciences operates across three of HW’s 5 campus locations giving you the unique
opportunity via Canvas to access any online sessions offered by faculty in each location. This course is
offered by staff located in Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia.

Campus Role Name HW Email** Office Hours (local

time)

Edinburg
h
Global Course Leader Dr Sarra Baroudi S.baroudi@hw.ac.uk 10:00-12:00 Tuesday

Lecturer/s Dr Sarra Baroudi 10:00-12:00 Tuesday

S.baroudi@hw.ac.uk

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 Campus Role Name HW Email** Office Hours (local
time)

Tutor/s Lesley Niezynski ln2005@hw.ac.uk

Course Leader* Dr Esinath Ndiweni E.Ndiweni@hw.ac.uk TBC

Dubai Lecturer/s Dr Esinath Ndiweni E.Ndiweni@hw.ac.uk TBC

Tutor/s

Dr Ricky Wong R.Wong@hw.ac.uk

Course Leader* TBC

Dr Ricky Wong R.Wong@hw.ac.uk

Malaysia
Lecturer/s TBC
Dr Nor Irdawati n.mahyuddin@hw.ac.uk
MAhyuddin

Tutor/s

4. Course Structure
This course is divided into 10 Modules. Each Module is accompanied by one or more lectures and
supporting tutorials and will address a specific subject area. In each of the course Modules on Canvas you
will find a range of online learning materials and instructions to guide your progress through a number of
tasks and activities to support your learning and to prepare you for lecture and tutorials. In total this
course comprises 11 timetabled lectures delivered on-campus at the same time each week over the
semester. In addition, you are expected to attend a number of on-campus tutorials in weeks 3 to 11 to
explore theories and concepts in more detail.

Consolidation Week: Week 6 is reserved as a reading week free of any timetabled sessions across all HWU
courses. You should use this time to catch up with online learning materials and wider reading. This will
also give you time to work on coursework assessment.

5. Teaching Schedule
On-campus Lectures. There will be 11 timetabled lectures of 2 hours each (see the detailed schedule in
Section 10).

On-campus Tutorials: Lectures are accompanied by 8 timetabled tutorials starting in Week 3. Each tutorial
is an interactive session lasting one hour and each will be available on-campus. There will be a number of

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tutorial groups available, and you are required to sign up to ONE of these groups for your campus location
ensuring that you select a group that is scheduled at a time that suits your overall programme timetable. In
your tutorial group you will explore the theories and concepts introduced in that week’s lecture or in
materials you will be directed to on Canvas.

For dates and timings of different tutorial groups please refer to the online timetable accessed via the
portal.

6. Course Assessment
Assessment on this course is designed to test your achievement of the learning outcomes listed above. This
course is assessed by a combination of coursework and a final invigilated examination. You will be assessed
using the following assessment components:

Individual Coursework (30 % of course mark)

case analysis:
This assessment will evaluate your performance against the following course learning objectives:
  Discuss the historical development of auditing and explain the need for and nature of third-party
assurance
 Analyse the current regulatory and ethical framework of auditing in the UK
 Outline and apply the steps involved in planning, performing, and completing a statutory
financial statement audit in accordance with UK ISAs and other relevant regulations

 Final Invigilated on-campus Examination (70 % of course mark)

The exam will be 3 hours in duration on campus during the final exam diet in December.
This Exam will evaluate your performance against the following course learning objectives:
  Discuss the historical development of auditing and explain the need for and nature of third-party
assurance
 Analyse the current regulatory and ethical framework of auditing in the UK
 Outline and apply the steps involved in planning, performing, and completing a statutory
financial statement audit in accordance with UK ISAs and other relevant regulations
  Discuss the features and impact of e-commerce and computerised business systems and assess
manual and computerised business systems and controls
 Describe, apply and criticise the key elements of an audit report
 Discuss current academic research in the field of audit

Support to complete course assessment is provided during tutorials and in the assessment, documentation
uploaded to Canvas. A session will be arranged to answer questions about each assessment / A Discussion
Board will be set up for each assessment to allow open discussion and to answer any questions you might
have about course assessment.

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Individual Coursework
You will be tasked with a case scenario analysis.

The assessment is due before 11.00 (UK)/3pm (Dubai)/6pm (Malaysia) on 11-11-23.

Submission of Coursework. An electronic Word file of your individual or group coursework MUST be
submitted to the Assessment Module on CANVAS. No hard copy of your work is required.

Will I get feedback on my coursework? Yes, you will receive general class feedback and individual feedback
to help you improve your performance on the course and help you prepare for the final exam. Class
feedback, highlighting general strengths and weaknesses, will be provided to you during a tutorial. while
coursework feedback will be available up to 3 weeks after the assessment is due, as per HWU policy.
Feedback will be released to you via Canvas.

Late Submissions of coursework. In line with University Policy, any work submitted after the set date and
time will automatically have a penalty applied. The penalty is a reduction by 30% of the mark awarded.
Submission will be accepted up to five working days after the submission deadline - your work will be
marked, the late penalty applied, and you will receive feedback. Coursework submitted after five working
days will be awarded NO grade and you will not be entitled to feedback.

Extensions. No extensions for coursework are permitted unless an extension is given to the whole class (in
exceptional circumstances). The course leader cannot grant individual extensions. If you foresee having
issues submitting by the deadline, please contact your Personal Tutor and apply for Mitigating
Circumstances (MC) via the student portal.

The Final Course Exam

The final examination will be delivered on-campus during the December Exam and Assessment diet
(dates will be released later in the semester by Registry). You will have 3 hours to complete the exam.
This is an invigilated in-person closed book exam. The exam paper will comprise 2 main sections (case
scenario fallowed by questions and an essay question) from which you will be required to answer within
3 hours

You will not receive your mark for the exam, but you will receive your final overall course mark after the
Board of Examiners has approved the course results and results are released by Registry.

Will I get feedback on my exam? Individual feedback on your exam performance is not routinely
provided. However, if you have failed the exam or performed below your expectation, then you can
contact the course leader to book an appointment within 3 weeks of the exam marks being released.
During your appointment you will receive verbal feedback.

Further detail on course assessment is available in the Assessment content area of the Canvas course.

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7.Course Revision and Exam/Take Home Assessment Preparation
Before the final revision session in week 12, you should have worked your way through all your lecture
notes, the online learning materials and activities and covered the prescribed textbook and journal article
readings. The following broad topics will be covered in the final revision session:

 Exam format and question types

 Grading standards/expectations
 Review of key concepts
You should prepare for the revision session and bring along any questions you have and areas of difficulty
you would like to raise or review during the session.

8. Academic Misconduct
At Heriot-Watt we expect all students to apply the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty in
all aspects of learning and assessment. You must read and adhere to the University’s policy on Academic
Integrity and complete the Academic Integrity Module included in the Canvas course.

To deal with academic misconduct, including activities associated with contract cheating, plagiarism and
collusion, the University has Student Discipline Policy and Procedures that apply to all students of the
University.
The University understands that assessment can be stressful for students, for a wide range of reasons.
Therefore, if you are feeling anxious about your assessment(s), please contact the Student Advice Hub, the
Student Well-Being Services, your Personal Tutor or your course leader for guidance and/or advice. If
there are circumstances out with your control preventing you from effectively engaging with and
completing assessed work, you should seek advice and consider applying for Mitigating Circumstances.
It’s vital that you seek support rather than resorting to cheating. If you are found guilty of academic
misconduct this will be reflected in your final degree transcript and you will be expected to resubmit your
work or resit the course; this may delay progression to the next stage of study and / or delay the award of
your degree.

To gain access to the Assessment on this course you need to complete the
Academic Integrity Module contained within the Canvas Course.

9. Reading, Preparation and Additional Resources

Within each Module in the Canvas Course you will find what will be covered in each lecture and tutorial and
how you can best prepare for these sessions. Each Module details the learning outcomes and topics to be

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covered. Please read through these carefully in advance. There are clear instructions for the activities,
exercises and tasks you need to complete before each tutorial.

Any required pre-work involves selected aspects of the online course and readings; if pre-work is indicated
for a lecture or tutorial this should be considered a minimum required level of preparation. If you have time
and would like to do more work beforehand or after a seminar or tutorial, you should work through the
additional activities and readings indicated in the Module.

The digital library is available giving access to a full range of resources, including e-books, databases and
journals. Resource lists, subject guides, skills development and online tutorials will also be available to
support your study. If you have any questions, our specialist Librarian (Marion Kennedy, EBS and
Psychology, +44 131 451 3583, m.l.kennedy@hw.ac.uk / Astrid Faragher, LINCS,, +44 (0)131 451 3383
astrid.faragher@hw.ac.uk) will be ready to help with one-to-one advice.

Core Textbook. The core textbook for this course is available via the HWU library as an e-book:

 The Audit Process: Principles, Practices and Cases” by Gray, Manson and Crawford (6th edition
2015). (print and electronic)
Additional books. For further background, those seeking additional sources might find the following book
useful:

“Principles of External Auditing” by Brenda Porter, Jon Simon and David Hatherly, 4th Edition 2014

Additional resources

Hamilton & Micklethwaite (2006) “Greed and Corporate Failure” – an interesting and readable book
examining recent corporate collapses (such as Enron) and reasons for their unexpected demises.
Matthews, D (2006) A History of Auditing Routledg

Beattie et al (2001) Behind Closed Doors: what company audit is really about Palgrave
Cooper, C (2008) Extraordinary Circumstances Wiley
This book brings to life the issues behind the collapse of WorldCom, written by the internal auditor who
‘blew the whistle’ on the malpractices.
DVD Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room. If you're not familiar with the story behind the Enron disaster,
this could be an entertaining way of learning about it.

Professional Organisations

IAASB The International Audit and Assurance Standards Board

This is the body which produces ISAs. The website (https://www.iaasb.org/about-iaasb) contains much
useful and interesting information, including access to all ISAs.

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FRC - Financial Reporting Council (UK)

The FRC is the independent body responsible for monitoring and promoting good corporate governance
and financial reporting in the UK. Their website contains much useful and interesting information, as well as
the UK ISAs and ethical standards.

PWC, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte – The largest accountancy firms often conduct specific pieces of
research on a variety of topics, including Auditing, some of which is available on their websites.

ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA,– the main professional accountancy bodies also conduct research into Auditing as
well as having guidance, regulations and ethical codes for auditors

Journals

Remember that journal articles assume a high level of base knowledge. If you come across terms and
concepts that you don’t understand, look them up before reading on. It might help to compile a glossary of
terms that you come across. If you intend to study for honours, you will need to read many journal articles
for your dissertation. Get used to reading them now as it gets easier with practice.

Critical Perspectives on Accounting –articles seeking to reformulate corporate, social, and political activity,
and the theoretical and practical means we use to understand and affect that activity.

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal – publishes articles concerning the interaction between
accounting/auditing and their socio-economic and political environments.

Accounting, Organisations & Society - concerned with all aspects of the relationship between accounting
and human behaviour, organizational structures and processes, and the changing social and political
environment of the enterprise.

The British Accounting Review - publishes original scholarly papers across the whole spectrum of
accounting and finance. Research includes a wide range of research methodologies (e.g. analytical, archival,
experimental, survey and qualitative case methods) and topics.

Advances in Accounting - focuses on the academic and theoretical side of the profession in various areas.

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10. Detailed Course Schedule
All times are local. Lectures are 2 hours in duration, tutorials are 1 hour in duration.

Mo Edinburgh
dul Unit Lecture/s
e

Lecture 12/09/22 at 9:00 am

1.
Introduction to audit

Lecture 19/09/22 at 9:00 am

2. Rules and regulation

Lecture 26/09/22 at 9:00 am

3. Corporate governance

Lecture 03/10/22 at 9:00 am

4. Ethics and acceptance

Lecture 10/10/22 at 9:00 am

5.
Planning and risk assessment

Lecture 24/10/22 at 9:00 am

6.
Audit evidence

Lecture 31/10/22 at 9:00 am

7.
Systems and controls

Lecture 07/11/22 at 9:00 am

8.
Internal audit

Lecture 14/11/22 at 9:00 am

9. The audit of specific items

Lecture 21/11/22 at 9:00 am

10.
Review and reporting

11. 28/11/22 at 9:00 am

Co
urs
Lecture
e
Course Review and Revision
Rev
isio
n

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Session times are all local time: Dubai is 3 hours ahead and Malaysia 7 hours ahead of UK time up until Sunday 30th
October 2022, on this date the UK moves from BST (British Summer Time) to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and then
Dubai will be 4 hours and Malaysia 8 hours ahead of the UK through until Sunday 26 th March 2023.

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