Introduction As per SA 530, audit sampling refers to the application of auditing procedures to less than 100% of items within a population relevant under audit such that all the sampling units have an equal chance of selection. In simple words, sampling in auditing refers to the practice deriving aRead more
Introduction
As per SA 530, audit sampling refers to the application of auditing procedures to less than 100% of items within a population relevant under audit such that all the sampling units have an equal chance of selection.
In simple words, sampling in auditing refers to the practice deriving a conclusion by the auditor about a population of data by evaluation of only a part or sample of the whole data. Population means a set of data.
Concept of sampling
We know, an audit involves inspection of financial information of an entity by an auditor to form an opinion on its financial statements. Now the financial information of a firm usually contains large volumes of data. For example, a firm may have entered into 50,000 purchase transactions in a year.
Now, checking each and every purchase transaction will cost both time and money. Also, nowadays, almost every enterprise have internal controls and automated accounting systems that are established to ensure accuracy and prevention of errors. Hence, a full-fledged inspection of each and every transaction is not worth the time and effort.
Instead, a wise thing to do is to take a sample from the whole volume of transactions or accounts and apply the auditing procedures to the sample. The results derived from the sample are then projected upon the whole volume of data. Samples are often taken using statistical methods to ensure that sample is taken randomly and represents the whole population of data in a true and unbiased manner.
Consideration regarding the population before audit sampling:
- The population is appropriate for the specific audit objective of the auditor
- It is from a reliable source to ensure sample reliability
- It is complete in terms of coverage of all relevant items throughout the period.
Irrespective of the method of sampling, the sample must represent the whole population closely.
Approaches to sampling
There are two approaches to sampling:
- Statistical Approach: It is a scientific way of ensuring that the sample is chosen randomly from data and represents the data in a true and unbiased way. It employs mathematical and statistical tools like the theory of probability and also considers sampling risk characteristics.
- Non-Statistical Approach: Under this approach, the auditor employs his personal experience to collect sample from the population. No mathematical tools are used but the personal judgement of the auditor regarding sampling. Sometimes, this approach may give satisfactory results depending upon the capability of the auditor. But in most cases, reliability is less compared to the statistical approach.
Debit Balance A debit accounting entry represents an increase in asset or expense account or a decrease in liabilities of an individual or enterprise. Debit balance is the amount in excess of debit entries over credit entries in the general ledger. The debit balance is shown as Dr. Credit Balance ARead more
Debit Balance
A debit accounting entry represents an increase in asset or expense account or a decrease in liabilities of an individual or enterprise.
Debit balance is the amount in excess of debit entries over credit entries in the general ledger. The debit balance is shown as Dr.
Credit Balance
A credit accounting entry represents a decrease in assets or an increase in liabilities or income accounts of an individual or enterprise.
Credit balance is the amount in excess of credit entries over debit entries in the general ledger. The credit balance is shown as Cr.
Debit Balance in the Passbook
A passbook is a record of a customer’s account transactions kept by the bank. The passbook is a copy of the bank account of the customer in the books of banks. Debit balance in the passbook is also called “Overdraft”.
All the transactions either debit or credit are recorded in the passbook. When the total amount of all debit entries in a passbook is more than the total of credit entries, it results in a debit balance. It means that an individual or enterprise owes to the bank.
The overdraft facility given by the bank has a limit i.e. only a certain amount can be withdrawn in excess of the amount deposited and if one avails overdraft facility, interest is also charged by the bank.
The amount withdrawn by a customer from the bank is shown as a debit entry and the amount deposited by the customer is shown as a credit entry. The passbook’s debit balance is a negative balance or unfavourable balance while the passbook’s credit balance is a positive or favourable balance.
For example: An individual deposited $50,000 in a bank account and withdrew a total sum of $60,000. So here, the passbook will show an overdraft of $10,000 i.e. the debit balance of the passbook. It signifies negative cash flow of the individual and that individual owes $10,000 to the bank.
Credit balance in Pass Book
On the other hand, when the total amount of all the debit entries in a passbook is less than the total amount of credit entries, it results in a credit balance. It means the amount deposited by a customer is more than the amount withdrawn indicating the positive cashflow in the account.
Reconciliation
It is the process of identifying and rectifying differences between the passbook and cashbook maintained by the bank and customer respectively. The aim is to ensure the accuracy of the transaction recorded in the cashbook and passbook.
Debit Balance Reconciliation
The debit balance in the cashbook and the credit balance in the passbook shows that some outstanding cheques are in the process of clearing and these cheques need to be adjusted for reconciliation of the balance of the passbook and cashbook.
Credit Balance Reconciliation
The credit balance in the cashbook and debit balance in the passbook shows that deposits already recorded in the cashbook are yet to be recorded in the passbook by the bank and these deposits need to be adjusted in the passbook for reconciliation of the balance of the passbook and cashbook.
Conclusion
The debit and credit balance of the passbook is the indicator of the financial position of an enterprise or individual. A debit balance signifies more withdrawals than receipts resulting in an overdraft.
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